How do I Raise Happy and Successful Goal Setting Kids?

EXERCISE FOR KIDS

Exercises for kids – we all need exercise and kids are even more vulnerable to the adverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle than are adults. There is a widespread increase in weight problems in children, and it is unclear whether this is caused by changes in diet, reduction in exercise or – most likely – a combination of the two.

An extensive review of data by the British Journal of Sports Medicine (2005) included something very interesting in its conclusions – the researchers found that organized physical activity like walking/cycling to school, physical education, and organized sports are declining in many countries. And even more significant, children want to be more active than they are but frustrated by things like school policy, parent’s safety rules, convenience and accessibility.

There is a clear message for us parents here – we need to incorporate physical activity into the lives of our children, and make exercise both easily accessible and fun.

This doesn’t mean an expensive gym subscription! Here are some ideas to get you going, whatever the age of your children.

Babies and Toddlers

We often start off on the wrong foot when it comes to exercise. When a baby gets to the crawling / trying to walk stage, just when she desperately needs a lot of exercise and practice moving, we so often restrict the infant’s movement using car seats and the like.

If you have a child of this age, it is very important that you let her have free playtime on the floor several times a day. Try to get into the habit of finding somewhere safe for her to play, inside or out, while you are doing your own thing nearby.

Unless a toddler is sleeping, it’s really not a good idea for her to be sedentary for more than an hour at a time.

Primary School Kids

Small children are designed to have many brief periods of moderate to intense activity during the day. Like toddlers, they should not have prolonged periods of inactivity, nor should they be expected to perform endurance exercise.

You should also be careful with this age group with regard to organized sports – participation can certainly be encouraged, but don’t push the child into it if he is not keen. Studies published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise show that forcing kids to participate in structured exercise turns them off exercise later in life.

If your children become involved in an organized sport at this age, be careful that it does not place too much physical or emotional strain on them.

Rather, emphasize your attention on fun games and activities that enable the child to exercise, test his limits and practice the basic movement skills (running, jumping, stretching, etc) Also try to incorporate physical exercise into your normal day-to-day activities:

1. Walking or cycling to school is extremely beneficial

2. Limit sedentary activities, in particular TV watching. Replace with active games where possible.

3. Make a game out of doing outdoor and indoor chores together. Young kids enjoy doing things WITH you, and many mundane chores are both great exercise and can be good fun if approached in the right spirit. Wash the car together, rake the yard, dance together while doing the dusting, and get fitter without even noticing!

4. If your kids are video game addicts, try introducing more active video games such as Dance Revolution or Game boy’s Boktai, which needs players to keep running outside to charge up their gun with real sunlight!

Older Kids (10+)

This age group and upwards is where organized, competitive sports really come into their own. With a bit of luck, your kids will get a lot of good exercise through team sports at school – but very often the school will not provide sufficient organized activities. For example when my stepdaughter was 13 she was on a basketball team at school and absolutely loved it! But she was so disappointed to find the following year that there was no girls’ team for basketball – the only way for her to play was to join a team outside of the school. You may find that you need to take the initiative to ensure that your child has regular access to the sport of her choice, and seek out weekend opportunities (note: watch out for our article, coming soon, on being a coach for your kid’s favourite sports team!) If your child is a little introverted, she might prefer something less demanding socially, for example hiking.

Extra benefits of exercise for kids

As well as the obvious health benefits of exercise for kids, there are secondary benefits such as an increase in self-esteem, and the feel-good factor from endorphins released during exercise.

A recent study (Frost & McKelvie, Department of Psychology, Bishop's University, 2005) demonstrated that in children, teenagers and young adults there is a clear relationship between exercise and self-esteem, which persists across all these age groups and both sexes.

At any age, you can start to point out to your child how good one feels during and after exercise. Exercising the body definitely makes the mind feel happier! Monicka pointed this out to me just the other day, when she mentioned that Suzannah, who sometimes comes home from school a little sad, came back happy in spite of reporting that she had not had a great day. Said Suzannah, “I played badminton this afternoon and it made me feel a whole lot better.” Wisdom from the mouths of babes!

Help your kids enjoy exercise and give them a life long gift that will help them be healthier and happier!

By Cassie

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