There are so many things you have to worry about when having kids. It ends up being a bit of a minefield. I’m a health professional so health if always at the forefront of my mind.
I really want both my girls to have a healthy diet and have a healthy relationship with food. With child obesity statistics on the rise and the risk of obese children becoming obese adults, so great, it really is something I worry about.
Being healthy of course isn’t just about food. Mental health, happiness and also being active are very important factors to consider too. I find it hard to always keep my eldest active and have to consciously think about ways of getting her out and about keeping moving. The government recommend that kids are active for 60 minutes a day and this needs to be moderate to vigorous; definitely getting their heart pumping.
Here are my top 6 ways to keep my girls active:
– The most obvious ones are to enrol them in specific classes. The gremlin goes to gymnastics after school on a Tuesday and has started swimming lessons on a Wednesday. Of course you don’t always have to part with a lot of money but active classes, are a good place to start your kids exercising without them realising it.
-Outdoor games. My girls love football and playing swing ball but what about a game of badminton? I used to play all the time and this Yonex GR505 Badminton Racket Set would be great for some outdoor activity.
– Walking where they can. We are about a 15 minute walk from our local town centre and we basically never drive in. It would have to be absolutely pouring for us to get the car out. The gremlin can walk there and back and little Piglet walks a little way there and around town, before going back in her buggy when near the main road.
– Getting out for a scoot. This is great activity for balance and their legs and what is even better is I have an adult scooter! It is great for us to go out for 30 minutes together for a scoot. It does me good too and it’s such fun.
– Dancing! Now and then if the gremlin and I are getting a little stir-crazy at home we put YouTube on or my music and dance crazily to some good tunes. It’s amazing how out of breath you can get doing this.
– National Trust or the park. At weekends sometimes the best thing to do in both summer and winter, is just to get out. We will head to a local National Trust or the park and let the girls run around for a little while. It always tires them out, as they crash in the car on the way home.
It doesn’t have to be costly and what I find is you get active too. I always get my 10,000 steps if we have walked into town or gone out for the day and this is mutually beneficial.
Plus it is always lovely to head home in the winter and snuggle down with a cuppa and film when you have been out in the cold.
What sort of things to you do to keep your kids active?
Disclosure – this is a collaborative post.
