from the publishers of: Verywell, Real Simple, EatingWell, Shape, Parents, Health and Allrecipes
Babies and toddlers spend an awful lot of time strapped into car seats or plopped in front of the TV. Not only does this prevent them from practicing their emerging motor skills and strengthening their heart, lungs and muscles, but it can also set them up for a sedentary lifestyle, and even obesity, as adults. How, you may wonder, can you help your child get the recommended one-plus hours of daily physical activity when you can’t even make it to the gym? The answer is to rethink your idea of exercise. A workout doesn’t have to mean running laps or lifting weights. Instead, focus on lifestyle activities you can do with your kids whenever the inspiration strikes. As a bonus, exercise with family does double duty as quality time. Let these creative ideas help you turn every day into an opportunity to get fit—and have fun—together.
Whether you head into town or just cruise the neighborhood, building a walk into your daily schedule ensures that it won’t get put off. Lisa J., in Brookline, Massachusetts, takes evening walks with her husband and 3-year-old Alex, who alternates time in and out of the stroller. To make walking more enticing, Lisa makes a sport of it. “At one house we look for a cat sitting in the window, at another we run up and down a short flight of stairs,” she says.
Betsy M. of Coral Gables, Florida, holds disco nights with her four kids and several neighbors. She moves the furniture aside, fills the CD player with dance tunes, and lets the kids take turns using a flashlight as a strobe light. “They dance for three hours straight,” Betsy says. “The older ones know all the words to the songs and really dance; it’s hilarious to see the younger ones try to mimic them.
Pretend that dust creatures are invading earth and it’s up to Captain [insert child’s name] to save the day by capturing them with his broom, suggests Juliet Z. of Wickenburg, Arizona. “Make believe he’s one of the Rescue Heroes, and have him save his teddy bears from the slimy pit of the floor by putting them safely in his toy chest,” she says.
Have your toddler walk instead of riding in the cart at the supermarket, and take the stairs or walk up the escalator whenever possible. Nancy T., of Knoxville, Tennessee, drives partway to her daughter Lydia’s preschool, parks the car and walks the rest of the way.
Invent silly names for simple exercises like squats, push-ups and sit-ups, and then do them together till the show comes back on. “Call them princess sit-ups or Bob the Builder muscle builders,” says Peter K., of New York City. You can also play Coach, in which you take turns “ordering” each other to “drop and give me five,” or Follow the Leader, in which one person leads the others in fun, simple moves like clapping, wiggling and marching.
One game to play is the fit-deck shuffle. Create a series of playing cards featuring family-friendly exercises, such as bear-crawling or ape-walking. Each family member picks a card, and performs the exercise pictured, until all the cards have been dealt.
Model the value of exercise—and of giving back to society—by teaming up with your children for a fund-raising race. There’s often a kids’ race that’s held before the main race starts; enter your kids to get everyone involved.
If autumn brings down leaves in your area, make a game out of catching them on a windy day. Then rake them into piles—give the kids child-sized rakes so they can help—and have fun jumping in them, or take turns completely covering one another in leaves. After a snowfall, let kids help clear the porch or walkway, then see who can make the most snow angels. Older kids can help build a snowman—and even toss a few snowballs.
Kids are great at digging up dirt, so let them turn over the soil and help you plant new bulbs. Research shows that gardening is as good as weight training when it comes to preventing osteoporosis, and if you’re planting vegetables, participating in growing them can make them more appetizing to kids. In the summer, set up a sprinkler to water the lawn, and challenge kids to duck the droplets.
New research from the North American Association on the Study of Obesity shows that dog owners had more fun losing weight and were able to keep it off longer than non-pup-owners. Don’t have a pooch? Go look for some. Somers, New York, mom Mary Rose A. gets her two kids to go for a walk after dinner by suggesting they go “looking for dogs.” “Luckily, there are a few at the end of my long street. That’s the carrot I dangle,” she says. “It works like a charm.”
