How to Make Your Children Excited about Exercise

April 29, 2018

Do you fight a daily battle with your children when it comes to getting them to do something active? “Get off the phone,” you tell them. Or “Turn off the TV.” Nowadays, with video games, cell phones, and YouTube, it can be next-to-impossible to get your children up and moving around.

But getting your children to exercise doesn’t have to be a constant battle. It’s all about how you approach the subject. So, what is the secret to making your children excited about exercise? The secret is this: make it fun. I know what you’re thinking - how do I do that? The answer is simple. Keep reading for details.

It is true that you can easily make your children excited about exercise. Before I go into detail, I want to make you aware of the importance of exercise for your children. Exercise has positive effects on physical health as well as mental health. Exercise:

• Improves children’s immune system
• Improves children’s physical strength
• Promotes good sleep
• Promotes a healthy heart
• Improves children’s confidence
• Improves children’s social skills
• Improves children’s self-esteem
• Helps children maintain a healthy weight
• Improves children’s mood
• Promotes proper posture

As you can see, exercise has numerous benefits for your children. So let’s answer that question; How to make exercise fun for them. First of all, it’s all about how you word it. If you ask your children, “Do you want to go exercise after school today?” how do you think they will respond? However, if you ask your children, “Do you want to go to the park after school today?” would their answer be different?

Many children perceive exercise negatively, but exercise comes in many forms. Chances are your children will be excited about at least one of the many forms. See below for some examples of the various forms of exercise.

• Dancing
• Swimming
• Riding bikes
• Gymnastics
• Playing tag
• Making obstacles
• Soccer
• Basketball
• Skating
• Jumping rope
• Playing on the playground
• Skateboarding

Rainy day? No problem. Easy exercise routines can be done indoors too. For example, yoga, stretching, and even dancing may be done inside if space allows. Additionally, many video games today incorporate physical activity by making the players dance and move around. The best part is your children probably won’t even realize they’re exercising!

Making your children excited about exercise is simple. All you have to do is make it fun by allowing your children to pick a form of exercise that they enjoy. As a result, your children will be excited to exercise and will improve both their physical and mental health.

 

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References

Healthy Families BC. Importance of Physical Activity for Children. Healthy Families BC. August 2013. https://www.healthyfamiliesbc.ca/home/articles/importance-physical-activity-children

Pippig, Uta. Benefits of Exercise for Children. Take the Magic Step. June 2016. https://www.takethemagicstep.com/training-exercise/families/benefits-of-exercise-for-children/

Physical Activity. Healthy Kids. https://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/teachers-childcare/physical-activity.aspx

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