Make Exercise Fun to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a major problem. It can be difficult to encourage children to remove themselves from today’s technology to exercise, but with the right approach, your kids can find working out as fun as playing video games. Getting the entire family together or involving your child’s friends is a great way to get started. Turn exercising into a game to add a competitive element and create a variety of activities that everyone can get a chance to win. Races, basketball games, and push-up contests are just a few ideas, and if you keep track of the results, it can be motivating to see everyone’s abilities increase week after week. Ask your children what they are interested in learning and sign up for a class. By taking their own interests to heart, you have a better chance of keeping them interested over time. Classes allow them to make new friends, learn new things, and keep the routine varied enough that they won’t get bored quickly. If friends or siblings are interested in the same activities, see about getting them signed up together. Everyday activities at home can also be turned into exercise. Consider creating a schedule for taking walks together as a family with the dog, gardening outside, cleaning the house, or organizing the garage. This allows for productive family time while also upping your child’s heart rate. Even relaxing times around the house can turn into healthy fun, like doing yoga or stretching while enjoying family movie night or catching up on the events of the day. Overall, keeping exercise fun, varied, and in the realm of what your children already enjoy results in happier, healthier kids (and parents!). We want to know how your kids love to exercise – share it with us in the comments below.