Exercise is incredibly important for children in numerous different ways. Firstly, it is a key factor in reducing the risk of some major illnesses in later life, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. It is also seen to have a positive effect on mental illness by aiding sleep quality, boosting self-esteem, and creating a healthy body image.
As well as promoting a healthy lifestyle, regular exercise for young people can be a fun activity to do with friends and family alike and is a great opportunity for them to meet new people that might not ordinarily socialise with.
So, here’s our five ideas to get your children staying fit and healthy!
1: Set Aside Daily Time To Exercise
One great way of getting your children to exercise every day is to set aside thirty minutes daily, and set up a star chart, so that if your child does their thirty minutes of exercise, they get a star sticker on their chart for that day. Once they have seven days filled up, they receive a treat at the end of the week, a perfect incentive.
2: Buy Them a Balance Bike
Balance bikes are an excellent method of exercise, and also a great way of teaching your children how to ride traditional bicycles. Balance bikes have no pedals or chains, instead they are propelled using the child’s feet, like skateboards or a scooter. Whilst balance bikes are aimed at toddlers and smaller children, they can also be used by older children, especially a 12 inch balance bike, or an extendable balance bike.
3: Encourage Them To Join Their School Sports Team
Sport is often the best way to get your children to exercise. It can often be difficult to get children to be active, especially in the age of iPads and Fortnite, and sport can be the key that unlocks the love of exercise in your children. By disguising exercise as a fun game, such as football, tennis, gymnastics – the opportunities are endless – and it’s also an excellent way to encourage teamwork and bonding with their peers.
4: Get Them Helping In The Garden and Around The House
Garden and housework can be especially tiresome, as a lot of energy is burned in the process. That means it is a great source of exercise! Jobs such as pulling weeds, planting flowers, and shovelling snow are all great workouts!
5: Go Swimming With The Family
Whilst swimming is a tough exercise, it creates a strong core and is also tonnes of fun! A trip to the swimming baths can be a very enjoyable day out for the family, and it also tires the kids out, so they can get to bed a bit earlier than usual, leaving you with a little extra me-time.
What are you waiting for? Get those kids on their feet and moving around now!
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