RSS
Home
Are your children fit?
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
PRnewsFoto/Eggland's Best
Do you know what it means to truly be fit? Heart disease now is the number 2 cause of death for children under the age of 16. Suicide rates have doubled for children from the ages of 5-14 over the past twenty years. This generation will be the first generation that will not outlive their parents.
How do you know if your children are what is defined as fit?
Some people may think being fit is defined as
1. Being free of disease and other health problems.
2. Others may define it as having a lot of energy, a muscular or thin body or the ability to finish a vigorous exercise or activity.
However, fitness refers to your own optimal health and overall well-being. Fitness is a combination of wellness of the mind, body and spirit. In fact, all of these things are interconnected.
Fitness is your health at its very best. A child that is fit is not just physically fit, but he or she should have a great emotional and mental well-being as well.
Smart eating and active living are both instrumental to all three. Therefore, a parent should provide a combination of healthy meals and stimulating opportunities for physical activity every day for your children to remain at an optimal fitness level.
Here are some things you can do as a parent to keep your child fit:
1) Provide a good balance of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.
2) Provide at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. Whether this means you get out and take a walk with your child for 30 minutes a day after dinner, or take them to an extracurricular activity you have to get up and move!
3) Provide mental stimulation. Turn off the TV and play brain games with your child. Help them complete their homework and provide extra age appropriate worksheets if they need more academic help. You can take them to learning center like Kumon and Sylvan for more academic help.
4) Provide encouragement on a daily basis for your child. This can be words of encouragement before they leave for school, inspirational notes on bathroom mirrors and in their lunchboxes. Parents should also have a “debrief” at the end of your child’s day or a heart to heart at dinnertime.
Being fit will give your child:
1) Energy to be more productive and to do things that are important to him/her.
2) A positive outlook to handle the mental challenges and emotional ups and downs.
3) Positive ways to deal with stress.
4) A reduced risk for many health problems, including heart disease, cancer and
diabetes.
5) The opportunity to look and feel at their very best.
6) Physical strength and endurance to protect yourself in case of emergency.
7) A better chance for a higher quality of life and perhaps and longer one, too.
Related Articles:
Comments
.jpg)
.jpg)
