***Collaborative post***
You work hard to provide for your family. You want them to have the best of everything that you had in childhood, and enjoy opportunities and experiences that you never got as a kid. However, you also want them to get the most out of childhood. Including, perhaps, avoiding temptations and pitfalls that weren’t necessarily applicable in your youth. For instance, while you may have enjoyed movies and video games in childhood, you wouldn’t have had the relentless call of social media, apps and games accessible from the magical plastic and glass rectangle in your pocket. You didn’t have hours of films and TV shows available at a touch of a button. In short, you didn’t have as many reasons to stay on the sofa. And you didn’t face the specific health issues that today’s kids face, with up to 40% of UK children obese in some areas.
You know you need to get your kids more active. But you don’t want to be a nagging Mum. You want to make taking an interest in health, fitness and wellbeing its own reward. And a great way to do this is by making exercise fun for the whole family. Here are some great ways to get the whole family active before the summer draws to a close…
Invest in your family’s own kit
You want to show that you’re all in this together. So why not make your very own custom Sports Kit just for the family? It’s a great way to compartmentalise your time. When the whole family is in their kit, everyone knows that it’s time to get active!
Create your own back garden Olympics
Needless to say, the 2020 olympics in Tokyo had to be postponed until next year. Still, while the weather’s warm and the back garden’s in bloom, it’s the perfect time to plan your own back garden olympics. With an ostentatious opening ceremony, medals for winners (and maybe even some tasty rewards), and all kinds of events to suit the whole family, it can be the perfect way to spend a sunny weekend in the garden. This blog has some cute idea for events that young kids and adults can enjoy together.
Balance active time with screen time
You don’t want to be the kind of parent that prohibits screen time. But you want to maintain a good balance of activities. So why not try allowing the kids (and the grown ups) to earn screen time by spending some time doing something more active. Half an hour’s bike ride could be used to earn the same amount of time playing video games, for instance.
TV night? Mix things up with some ad break exercises
Finally, if you’re serious about getting the whole family fit, any time is an opportunity for a workout. Even the short breaks for ads while the family watches TV together. Bupa has some great ideas for short but intense ad break exercises that will allow the family to burn some calories during TV time and mitigate the health risks of too much sitting.
