Promoting Exercise In Our Children

As a mother it’s important for me to ensure that I can keep Rei active and encourage a joy in his life when it comes to exercise. As a fitness professional that is something that is even more important to me.

Right now, thankfully, it’s easy as all I have to do is chase him around the house and act like I’m going to tickle him. Or I tell him to chase the dog. But what about when he gets a little older? Or how about for those of you reading this that have children who are a bit more difficult. How do you encourage them to exercise?

The easiest thing I can think of is to find a way to make exercise as attractive for our children as tv or video games. Something that provides the same levels of dopamine during exercise as those activities do.

If games can get truckloads of attention from our kids, why don’t we entice them to participate in physical activities through games.

Here’s the thing though, kids only truly get engulfed in something if they have good role models who participate (that means you parents). Being a good role model is key to raising cooler kids.

With that being said, here are a few options for you to try.

Racing

By racing, I mean traditional 1 on 1 racing. Or even group racing.

If you live in a neighborhood with a few children the same age as yours, you could organize a racing match between the children. Or you can ask your children to beat you at a race.

This practice will allow your kids to connect with you at a deeper level. But that bond isn’t the only benefit you’ll get from this game.

You will also learn that in this game between distinctly unmatched participants, the pace and chances of winning probably won’t be all that different.

Participate in a race with your child and wonder why you, being bigger and more powerful, oftentimes fail at beating the kid at the race.

Dodge ball

It’s another game full of fun, laughter, and roughhousing. The only catch with this game is the number of required participants. It can’t really be played with less than three people.

How do you play it?

So, we have “traditional” dodgeball, where there are two large groups of players, lobbing balls at each other trying to see which team will win the battle of attrition.

OR! The more intimate, and oddly, more intense version listed below.

One player stands in the middle, while the other two stand opposite to each other and try to hit the middle player with a ball.

The middle player dodges the ball as much as he can and tries to catch it at the same time to get out of the middle position.

The exercise is full of excitement and adrenaline. It forces the player in the middle to step out of his comfort zone and move swiftly to survive.

Jump Rope

Another, quite forgotten, but traditional, game is jump rope.

This game enhances the stamina of the child and prompts them to go push that extra mile to win.

Holding matches for better performance and longer duration will induce a competition factor among the children.

This is a good activity to ensure a solid level of exercise for your child's legs, but their arms should also receive a decent amount of exercise.

And don't forget the mental aspect here, pushing through and being resilient is how you win. Children love to win. Therefore, they’ll push until they’ve gone past their limit of endurance. Which strengthens the mind and body.

Obstacle Courses

Let’s move towards more complicated kids exercise games. An obstacle course is the best way to integrate different types of body movements in traditional games.

The primary focus of all the games mentioned above is on legs and lower back. The question of strengthening arm muscles remains unanswered.

I can remember my cousins and I used to create obstacle courses in our backyard to navigate. We had to navigate through these obstacles to reach the final spot quickly.

This game had two different versions.

In the first version, the game had two teams. Both had to create a path for the other team. The team which could reach the goal in less time was the winner.

In the second version, the older cousins had to create an obstacle course for the younger group. The participant among us who reached the goal first would win the match.

We used anything and everything that we could to create the obstacle courses. Tables, chairs, benches, toys, bikes, trashcans anything we could. We had to crawl under most of them to get them cleared.

Looking back, I can say one thing was common among all the games I played in my childhood: competition. Including competition in games not only prompts the participants to put their best foot forward but also allows them to embrace this phenomenon in their real lives.

We can compete with our peers and remain non-judgmental and free of jealousy, right?

Take Away

You can make any activity, exercise or otherwise, fun if you enjoy it and remain in it mentally.

Be a part of your child’s physical activity and own it.

Owning it will give plentiful ideas, even if you live in small spaces and cannot spend a fortune on game equipment.

Enjoy!