This is a partnered post.
With all the technology – iPads, tablets, phones, computers, TV – kids are not getting all the time outside that they need. Did you know that the number of preschoolers that are overweight have doubled in the last ten years?
Although food definitely has a role here, so does keeping your kids more active.
I’m lucky to have pretty active children. Ever since my son was little he always wanted to be outside playing. I never worried about video games with him because he rarely played them. He was riding bike, rollerblading, playing soccer or basketball and was always on a rec sports team. Just recently he became a little obsessed over Mindcraft. I’m not thrilled about it and over the summer he did spend too many hours playing this game. He will be starting baseball soon so that and school will keep him busy!
Here are some tips on how you can keep your kids active –
Limit technology (TV, computers, video games, etc).
Encourage your children to go outside and play! For little ones teach them to play tag, follow the leader and hopscotch. For older ones get a group together for soccer or manhunt. My son and his friends also play with airsoft guns and have lots of fun having teams.
If they have to watch TV, get them to get up and dance and move around! There are great shoes for little ones to encourage just this!
Do things as a family! Get everyone together and go for a walk or a bike ride. There is also hiking, roller skating or rollerblading. Yes I said roller skating! Did you know they still make roller skates? I found this website that sells kids roller skates and some really fun outdoor roller skates. After seeing this I am adding roller skates to my daughter’s Christmas list. I think she will have a blast and will be able to go with my son ad I when we Rollerblade.
Clean house together. This one can be hard for some. My daughter loves to clean the house with me. We spend time together and get some exercise at the same time!
Sign the kids up for team sports. There are so many now a days to choose from. My son played baseball for years, then tried a variety of sports and is now going back to baseball. My daughter played her first season of soccer this past Spring. Just remember to encourage and not push them into it.
What do you do to keep your kids active?
My kids are BIG Soccer players and they play in the off season at the local REC and during school season they play Highschool Soccer; they love it. One of my boys is also an avid runner, he loves track and runs every day; they get lots of exercise in
Keeping kids active is so important! We try and ride bikes together as a family several times a week.
I am going to have to follow up on the tip to limit technology. This is something that my husband and I recently talked about. My husband has no problem letting my son play on the iPad for hours, but I think that it is a big no-no since he could be doing other stuff that is better for him, especially being active.
This is so important! With gadgets these days, I think we ALL need these tips!!
I lock mine outside for an hour or 2. Well, not really locking the door but letting them know they need to occupy themselves sans technology for a while.
We do some of those. I just wish that it was safer to allow kids to go outside. When I was little, we were always outside.
My kids loved to explore nature so we went to lots of parks, nature centers, and on hikes!
While we area pretty high tech family, I always make sure to limit how much time the kids can spend on them
We try to limit technology and TV in our home and get the kids outside to play/garden.
I always find technology the biggest distraction from active play outside.
we do these! we love being an active family together 🙂
we go outside every day unless its lightning or hail (or major storm event) — even in the rain. roller skating is great- my oldest has adjustable skates so they’ll last a while.
we also play basketball, soccer, scooter, ez roller, and anything else we can think of. being active is so important!
Great tips, I love the one about getting the kids to dance if they are watching tv – that’s a great idea! There are a LOT of shows with good music.
We are very active in team sports and that is definitely a big help.
I have good memories of playing outside as a kid. I think these are great tips, especially about getting the whole family out and about!
We’ve got to work on the active indoor stuff. Our mosquitos are just soooo bad here like 10 bites in 10 minutes. I can’t wait for it to cool off and kill them off!
We have been focusing on trying to get our kids more active too! We got one of those big trampolines and the kids can play on it for hours! Even I have been trying to be more active with them to give them motivation.
There is nothing that my son likes better then going outside to play!
I agree keeps them trim & occupied.