Disclosure- this is a collaborative post.
As parents, we all know that it’s essential that our children exercise, eat healthily and get plenty of rest to be as healthy and happy as they can be. But modern life is so busy and full of distractions, that we may drop the ball on some of these points occasionally. Children also don’t seem to love sleep, but what they do love is moving around, which is great because they usually get plenty of exercise just from running around having fun day in day out. Whether that’s in school at home or avoiding bedtime!
You can choose to hire a personal trainer, but there are a few options when it comes to exercise for everyone, to get the most out of quality time spent together, and benefit from the added exercise as a bonus.
Swimming
Lots of children really love swimming, and no doubt you’ve paid vitamin lessons already, or still are. It is an important skill to learn to swim it with is one that will save your life if you ever get into trouble in the water. But it’s also a fun activity that will wear the whole family at two. There are plenty of leisure centres, and James with Paul’s that you can actually join and get that exercise in while having fun. Playing tag in the water with the additional effort needed to move, it’s excellent cardiovascular exercise. Having a swimming race is also incredibly good few due to the muscles needed during this one. And just the general running up and down of the stairs to get to the slide, and jumping into the pool on the side will get the heart beating. Going swimming can be a bit tricky with smaller children. However, it always pays off since they usually sleep very well the night after going swimming.
Walking
If you walk to and from school on the school run every week, then you are already getting a good healthy dose of exercise every single day. But you don’t need to have any other reason to walk other than you can see some excellent scenery, and spend some quality time together. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area with some mountains nearby why not said to challenge to get to the top? This can give a real sense of achievement as well as improving the overall health of the whole family. This Idea also doubles as an educational activity, geography, maths, and even out if you take a pencil and pen and pad with you, so you can even send your child back into school on Monday with some bonus homework!
Bike rides
It doesn’t matter how old your children are as long as they can be carried, towed or ride a bike themselves, You can really have some great adventures on a long bike ride. Obviously, it goes without saying that a helmet must be worn at all times? But once you get on the bike and put a plan in place, you can really get some great exercise. Just be prepared for some potentially tired little legs, and tantrums if the children aren’t so well prepared. But building up the distance over time can really help them achieve some great times on a bike ride. And also after the initial outlay of the bike and equipment, you’ll find it’s a cheap and easy way to spend an afternoon.
Trampolining
You may not relish the idea of taking the children to a trampoline park or jumping on your old garden trampoline, but you’ll be glad you did if you take A little time out to take your selves off to jump around a little, even if it’s just for a half-hour session. It’s important to check you don’t have any issues with your joints first of course, but you can burn many calories while trampolining, build muscle, and have lots of fun with the children at the same time. A lot of trampoline parks have family sessions which naturally includes parents too.
Soft play
Soft play areas can be a little bit noisy, and overwhelming if you aren’t involved in the fun yourself. But most play areas and quiet play buildings Welcome parent participation as well, so as well as bringing the children along to burn off their energy, you can get involved and get some exercise yourself too.
Whatever you decide to do, it’s entirely up to you and your family to work out what you can and can’t manage. You can, of course, use these ideas and amend them to your own preferences, but just getting outside and moving around more is always the right step in the direction towards being fitter and healthier.
Disclosure – this is a collaborative post.
