More and more parents are struggling these days to find time for family exercise in their busy schedules. And even when the whole family comes together for a group activity, motivating kids to enjoy a physical workout is also a challenge. However, by planning fun and creative activities that involve the entire family, parents can help their children enjoy a healthy lifestyle.
One of the keys to teaching a child the importance of proper nutrition and exercise is to emphasize maintaining a healthy weight in their formative years. Expose your kids to the benefits of healthy living - a stronger body, increased confidence, and more energy - and most will make exercise a regular part of their lives. While it is never too late to begin
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Physical fitness for children can start off with turning a simple activity into a game. The kids just think they are playing a fun game, and do not even realize that they are exercising at the same time.
PLAN GROUP ACTIVITIES
Activities that involve the whole family, either in pairs or a group, is another creative form of encouraging children to exercise. Competition will often motivate kids to work harder so divide family members into teams, and offer nutritious prizes for the winning squad. If your kids have friends hanging out at your house, invite them too. Regardless if you decide to play a game of basketball, frisbee, soccer, volleyball or even take a brisk walk, your kids can enjoy a family activity while also getting some much-needed exercise.
ACTIVITY OPTIONS
Kids have short attention spans and because of this, parents should provide their children with a variety of physical activities that will not only keep their interest levels peaked, but will help you and your children learn which activities they enjoy the most. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, including your kids. Plan an assortment of activities at regular intervals which are appealing, interesting, challenging and fun to your kids, and mix things up often so each activity does not become boring and predictable.
CREATIVE ROLE MODELS
It is much easier for children who have parents with healthy lifestyles to choose the same path when it comes to physical
Parents who eat well and are physically active provide great examples for growing children, offering them a nutritious diet rich in vitamins and minerals provides them with the necessary nutrients to support healthy growth and development. Additionally encouraging active play and incorporating physical activities into daily life will help children build muscular mass and increase coordination and develop self confidence. While young children
2. It is also important for parents establish a routine of physical fitness into the child’s life. You could go for walk, go hiking, bike riding, or got them involved in sports at your local YMCA. If physical activity is not a part of the family’s life, it may be difficult for the child to pick up these habits and could be just an ongoing issue that gets passed on through generations.
First of all, students do not have much knowledge about the different fitness components; they do not understand the relation between the fitness components and health. If students acquire the background knowledge about fitness, it could improve the class engagement and motivation, and increase the independent drive to exercise. Second barrier to students’ achievement is the lack of motivation to be active, and even more difficult, to specific fitness activities, such as sit-ups and push-ups. In today’s society, students spend more time sitting in front a screen and less time moving. Parent and school today have more responsibility making sure the children get enough physical activity. According to the New York Times (2016), “early school physical education (PE) programs can make a significant difference, and the earlier these routines are learned the more likely they will be carried forth into a healthy adulthood”. Another barrier that prevents students’ success is the loss of instructional time due to discipline problems. The classes are too big, with many diverse students with individual problems, which are difficult to address when these issues are from very different backgrounds. Finally, there is not enough support from home affecting not only physical education, but
Physical activity has not only physical benefits. It also has a very big impact on social-emotional and cognitive aspects of child’s live. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “The development of a physically active lifestyle is a goal for all children. Traditional team and competitive sports may promote healthy activity for selected youth. Individual sports, noncompetitive sports, lifetime sports, and recreational activities expand the opportunity for activity to everyone. The opportunity to be active on a regular basis, as well as the enjoyment and competence gained from activity, may increase the chances that a physically active lifestyle will be adopted.”
Physical activity is an integral part of health and well being in children.Our bodies also require physical activity in order to be healthy.Understanding and supporting physical activity, will help children have the right foundation for a healthy and happy life.Positive experiences with physical activity at a young age promotes the growth if strong bones and muscles, help to develop good posture and balance, obesity risk and chronic disease risk infection are reduced.
What activities and experiences you and your child have engaged in might be promoting healthy behavioral practices and an interest in physical activity?
Encourage children - To not only strive to do their best, but also to enjoy the process. Trying new activities teaches children about teamwork, self-esteem and new skills.
Physical activity also has benefits for children's social and emotional development and cognitive development. These benefits include being part of a team and making friends through group sports, which have a major impact on social and emotional development. The effect of obesity on children is closely linked to many bad health habits such as diet, smoking and drug use which in turn can affect a child's academic performance (Goran et al., 1999). Physical activity, if encouraged at a young age, can reduce the likelihood of children developing these behaviours and focus on their academic performance and cognitive development. As children in this age range are in their fundamental development stage, it is important that educators and parents alike, teach children about the importance of physical activity at a young age in order to prevent health and social well-being problems in their adult years.
Exercise is physical activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness, but it is not limited to simply physical maintenance it can help in mental elasticity. As a small child is developing the brain is still in midst development. You can almost think of the brain as a muscle, but it is not directly exercised. Yet, in the process of playing games or simple activity can sharpen puzzle solving skill and elasticity for children. It still works for older people, but in age the brain becomes less elastic making the best time to give puzzle skills and general increased connectivity is while still a child. Then again one needs not forget the physical fitness aspect of exercises in increasing the longevity and quality of life. Then again it is no better time to form good habits then as a young child, it always seems to stick in long-term memory easier and longer when trained into it. Exercise also benefits cardiovascular fitness leading to less heart disease in old age. I always see one of the most annoying things in my mind “ I’ll exercise tomorrow” that there in essence why many people this day and age have a increase chance of heart disease and obesity. One does not need to set time aside to exercise. Exercise can be and can take place any place any were just be active. Like waiting in line in the store just standing there, why not do calf raises not as if anyone really cares I have done it countless times. This was the basic aspect I tried to convey to the kids and it is
Think of it, kids only go to Physical Education or “gym” class every other day of the week. So that is about two or three times a week. Gym class only lasts about an hour of the day, and for some students, this is the only physical exercise that they have. When kids come home from school, they usually just sit down on the couch and watch TV until dinner time, study, and then play video games late at night, and then go to bed. The way we can get kids to develop a habit of more physical exercise is having gym class every day instead of just two to three. Also, instead of kids playing games that involve little to no activity, Schools should have kids focus on things like getting your body moving like running, yoga or sports games like baseball, football or volleyball. Things like this that kids can look forward to doing everyday may potentially lead to a child more encouraged to play with a ball afterschool and find a new hobby instead of sitting at home on the
One activity is when I toss a beach ball and kick large playground balls around the yard with Gemma to help her develop fundamental movement skills in a fun way. This also helps her gain interest in physical activity. Another activity is when we started playing catch, shooting mini-basketballs and kicking the mini-soccer ball. From an early age, boys and girls are usually channeled into differen physical activities. Fathers are more
They also suggest scheduling exercise into your child's day, so it fits right in, and doesn't interfere with homework and other scheduled activities. (See References 5)
obesity is okay and that it is not that big of a deal, they are wrong. There
Physical activity is essential for children; therefore sport participation has many physical benefits for youths (Willox, 1994). In the United States there is a very unhealthy trend of physically unfit children going on. According to a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health seven out of ten kids in our nation are out of shape and the incidence of obesity has increased by more than 50 percent among America's children and teen since 1976 and continues to grow at a staggering rate (Metzel & Shookhoff, 2006). When children participate in sports activities they get some of the exercise they need to improve their quality of life and can help prevent children from becoming obese. Physical activity regulates obesity because it increases energy expenditure, suppresses appetite, increases metabolic rate, and increases lean body mass (Willox, 1994). Even though regular physical sport activity has been shown to improve physical fitness, it can also help in preventing many different health problems down the line that youths who participate in sports are more likely not to develop than youths who do not participate in sports. Women who participated in organized sport and fitness programs as
However, many children do not run like they should which causes the rate of obesity to rise. According to the American Heart Association, about one out of three American teens and children are overweight because of lack of exercise. Playing a sport could really help improve a growing child's health.