Parenthood is all about surprises, you will think that you have read all the books and you know everything and then you will get surprised. Most of the surprises are associated with bodily fluids, it can be sweat, hormones, neurotransmitters, and a lot more. You will have to face lack of sleep, double working shifts, tireless amount of work, and a lot more. As the world is becoming fast-paced, most parents are trying to just make ends meet, so they are busy with their jobs. This means kids are now getting addicted to more screen time and junk food. This is leading to one of the biggest challenges i.e. child obesity. In America, child obesity is now at its height. Former first lady, Michele Obama took this initiative where she introduced healthy eating and healthy living to kids. For a male guardian to take charge of these things, it is very important to introduce your kids to a healthy style of living. You need to introduce them to exercise, fun activities, and healthy eating styles as well. Where most parents find it very hard to understand why their kids needexercise, others struggle with what kind of exercise they should start with their kids. We know that most exercises involving adults are very difficult for kids and most exercises that are recommended for kids are not liked by adults. However, if you make it fun, you can easily hit your goal and become successful.
With the help of this article, we will recommend some easy exercises that you can incorporate into your daily life. These exercises are fun and you can perform them with your kids. We will also help you to know about various ways you can encourage your kids to work out and get involved in physical activities.
How to help your child Exercise at Every Age?
Toddlers for Exercise
As the toddler starts to crawl and tries to walk, most parents jump to the saving mode. We all want to help our kids learn but with full protection mode, you will hinder their learning. All you need to do is, help them balance their weight. This will help them to learn to walk faster. Overall, it is a good experience that will help your child as well and this will be a great exercise.
School Going Kids
As your kid will start going to school, you will see that his interests are changing. This will be more rewarding because you can tell what he likes more. If you are into yoga, you can see if your kids are copying you. However, most kids like fun activities like dancing, trampoline, or racing.
Teenagers
If we have to list one of the most challenging ages for exercise that will be teenagers. With raging hormones and the ability to have an independent life, kids might get out of control. However, it is at the same age where they need more care and exercise. When most parents try to feed their kids healthy food, teenagers get out of control. This eventually can lead to other issues. However, during teenage, most kids are very competitive so you can use this to your advantage. Try to start a swimming completion at home or help them start a point war where they can score a point if they win. This will be a very good experience, especially for the whole family. You can also help them with healthy food and organize a very basic healthy meal completion at home.
Why Do Kids Need Exercise?
Exercise is usually recommended for adults because the metabolism rate slows over time. However, kids are now facing major issues related to weight and mental health. To cope with this, schools are now introducing exercise breaks where kids are encouraged to get involved in the exercise of their choice. Some of the main reasons kids are asked to exercise involve:
● Exercise is good for physical health
● Exercise helps with emotional and mental health as well
● Exercise plays an important role in increasing the blood flow that eventually helps with mental abilities
● Exercise improves academic activities, memorizing, and a lot more
● Exercise helps with hormonal imbalance
● Exercise improves and elevates mood
How to Encourage Your Child for Regular Exercise?
Most parents find it hard to involve kids in their exercise routine. Where parents think exercise is good, kids think exercise is going. To find a common ground you need to help them stay motivated. Some of the best ways to encourage your child for exercises involve:
Find a Fun Activity
Exercise for kids is not the same as an exercise for adults. As long as there is some kind of physical activity, it is enough. You will get some of the most fun exercises for kids, this can involve cycling, trampoline, swimming, and much more. You can involve your pet and go for a walk while your kid can follow you on a cycle. You can also go swimming with your dogs. Overall it all comes down to something fun.
Set an Example
Leading with an example is very important. You don’t want to just limit it with cheering, you need to get involved as well. We have seen parents starting the exercises and when the kid sees this healthy behavior they get involved as well. The same goes for healthy cooking and eating behavior. Unless you don’t eat healthily, no one will follow. It is all about examples.
Involve the TV
We know that people like to limit the screen time for kids but if you get them involved with TV, this can help them continue. You can put on a dance number or get them to do squats during the commercial. You will see that kids will find it way more fun as compared to simple exercise.
Set a Point Game
If you have more than one kid, you can set a point game with an exercise. Make them go for a walk, run or race in the garden. This will help them learn and they will become more competitive. At the end of the week, take them out for a fun activity as a reward.
Cheer Them
Cheering is a very good way of encouraging. If you are trying to help someone stay encourage, try to cheer them up. According to psychology, complimenting someone or cheering is an excellent way of positive reinforcement.
Put On Some Music
Putting on music will increase the pace. However, dance is an excellent form of exercise that you can perform with your whole family. This will become an excellent bonding experience that you can do with your partner as well as your child.
Bottom Line
To sum it all up, there is no doubt parenting is hard. However, you need to manage time and your emotions at the same time. You will find so many different books related to parents, these books range from physical fitness to eating habits and emotional behaviors in kids. Things have changed now, kids are getting more aware of their emotional issues. With the fast pace life and ongoing change in technology, kids are now under a lot of pressure. It is a time where our kids need more support from our side. To make sure they feel safe at all times, it is very important to help them develop healthy habits through exercise.