It’s easy to recognize there is a growing epidemic of child obesity in the U.S., but is it because kids are lazy? Or do we as parents get so wrapped up in running errands and working that we don’t make time to exercise as a family?
By encouraging your child to be active at an early age, you can prevent conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and a poor immune system. The Department of Health and Human Services says children 2 years old and up should get an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise each day.
One-way to help your kids do that: Enlist them in activities around the house. Instead of sending your children off to watch television or play video games while you do everyday jobs, get them involved. Their assistance in unloading the dishwasher, setting the table, moving clothes from the washing machine to the dryer, washing the car or even sweeping helps develop muscles and encourages developmental functions such as balance and hand-eye coordination.
Aside from the family walk, hike or bike ride, there are other fun ways to get active together. The folks at www.kidshealth.org, a Web site run by the Nemours Foundation that provides doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence, suggest the following activities. They not only offer healthy options for active family time, but also provide the opportunity for you to be a kid again:
Toddlers (ages 2-3) and little people (ages 4-5). Act like an animal: Walk like a penguin, hop like a rabbit or gallop like a pony. Play games such as duck-duck-goose or red rover. Play follow-the-leader and add add extra calisthenics like jumping, hopping and walking backward. Play freeze tag. Work on balance skills by pretending to be statues.
Preteens, ages 6-12. Kids at this age usually keep active with other children in the neighborhood. But parents can also enjoy backyard and park activities such as playing catch and hula hooping. Set up an outdoor obstacle course with chairs, boxes and elevated broomsticks: kids can hop over and slide or crawl and crouch under items as they make their way through the course.
All kids. Turn a hike or walk around the park into a scavenger hunt. (Try this on rainy days by hiding items around the house.) Older kids will enjoy an extreme scavenger hunt: running from one found object to another. Organize a game of hopscotch.
The Let's Move website (letsmove.gov), part of Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign, lists ideas for parents for taking action in the fight against childhood obesity at home.
Children can also learn about healthy food choices that replenish their bodies after activities and keep their engines running. Resources such as www.my pyramid.gov, run by the United States Department of Agriculture, can assist parents in teaching children about protein that helps build and repair muscles and carbohydrates that provide energy.
For more information about nutrition for youngsters, click on the links to read about healthy snacks for kids and teaching kids about healthy food choices.
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