What do you do if your child wants to exercise? In the past generations children always exercised. It might not have been called that but exercise was a part of life but this isn’t the case today. We are created to exercise and a child should always be encouraged to take part in some form of exercise.
If you think back to your school days you will have had time in the playground for kicking a ball or skipping or other activities. Then there were always games or PE put into the school curriculum. Yes we might have bad memories of not being able to play one game very well or not being chosen for the team but we still managed to get exercise.
We would walk to and from school which might not be so safe to do today but instead of driving your children to school why not walk with them. That way you also get exercise and keep an eye on your children.
Cycling
If your children have bicycles why not make it possible for the whole family to get out into the fresh air with a day cycling. You could pack a healthy picnic and go out into the countryside. It is a great way to get exercise without thinking of it being a chore.
While you might not like exercise make sure you don’t put your fears on your children and in return they get obese because of lack of exercise and finally have many diseases and illness which could be avoided with exercise.
Involve Children in Your Own Exercise
The time to exercise alone is over. Next time you exercise, get your kids as well. There are many advantages when you do this. You can turn your boring routines into fun games. You can spend quality time with your children. You can show your children how you exercise. See how Leo Babauta does this with his children.
Dancing
What other exercises can children take part in? Children love to dance just put on a music CD or DVD and watch them dancing. If you have very young children buy some of these great activity DVD which calls for the children to dance along with their favorite characters. But for those who want to go another step further there will be dance classes where they can learn ballet, tap or modern dance.
Swimming
Swimming is another great exercise and all children need to be taught to swim as it could save their lives. Again it is something all the family can do together. Get to the pool and have fun but make sure you swim and use those muscles.
Gym
You might want to consider taking your child to the gym with you but before you do talk to the gym first. Make sure they are qualified to help children in working out an exercise. Children’s bodies are not the same as adults and they will need an exercise program designed just for them.
The gym or trainer will need to take into consideration whether the child has ever done exercise before or not. If their only exercise has been their fingers and they use the keyboard on their computer then they will need to be taught how to warm up the body otherwise injury will occur.
One of the most important aspects of exercise is talking to your child to see what they would like to do. Don’t put on them to become the next gold medalist in a certain discipline because it is a dream you had but didn’t fulfill. They need to develop their own likes and dislikes.
Finally you need to make sure that whatever exercises your child does from walking in the mall to a vigorous workout in the gym that your child warms up correctly, uses the muscles correctly and drinks plenty of water and doesn’t suffer from damaged muscles or dehydration.