Keeping your child Active
Obesity in school aged children is now an epidemic in the US. Crazy to think about, huh? (click on the picture to your left in order to zoom in) When we were younger, it was safe to play outside, ride your bike around the neighborhood, or head to a soccer field without the fear of something terrible happening. I remember that I would literally get home from school and play outside until supper time. Now, we cannot just let our children roam the streets…..we have to keep a close eye on them. Another reason our children are not heading outdoors is because of the availability of video games and TV.
Why are our children becoming obese? Eating too much and exercising too little. Rather than putting your baby (child) on a diet, it is advised that you encourage more physical activity. Children should be active for 1 hour per day. With PE being taken away from many schools, kids do not often get the hour of exercise at school and should find a way to get it after school. Make play dates with your family to head outdoors and exercise. Make the exercise fun for the whole family. What are some strategies for encouraging daily activity if you are a working parent/s? Community and afterschool programs. Many of these programs include sports, running, swimming, and other physical activities. If these are not an option in your community, pair up with other parents in the neighborhood who will encourage physical activity.
Expose your child to a variety of activities so that they avoid getting bored, use different muscles, play at different intensity levels, and find out what they love and don’t love to do.
Please review the Kids Fitness Exercise Pyramid
http://www.fitnessandkids.com/exercise-pyramid.pdf
Please check out this awesome website www.kidnetic.com and you can see interactive based programs for your child. They offer healthy, fun recipes and different activity ideas each day. It is a pretty cool little site. ( I actually played the scavenger hunt in the house game). And I had fun! :o)
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