As a busy mom of three, I totally understand the temptation for kids these days to spend their free time parked in front of screens rather than being active. When my 9-year-old son started gaining excess weight and complaining about being tired and sore, I knew things had to change. The challenge was finding forms of exercise all my kids would embrace and stay motivated in the long.
After some trial and error, I’ve finally struck the right balance of activities that get my kids excited about moving their bodies in fun ways. I’m happy to share the strategies that have worked wonders for slowly pulling them away from their devices and infusing consistent physical activity into our family’s routine.
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Make It a Family Affair
I realized that just telling the kids to exercise wasn’t going to cut it. I had to step up and do it with them! Now every evening after dinner, we all suit up in activewear and head out for a family run around the neighborhood or go to the basement playroom for our “active hour”. We take turns picking fun workouts to do together from yoga videos to dance contests.
Seeing mom and dad willingly participate too (yes, even though the whining!), rather than just ordering them to exercise, has finally instilled that fitness can be rewarding. It also gives us treasured bonding time together away from distractions.
Create Active Family Challenges
Another tactic that worked wonders was proposing family fitness challenges. My son loves competition, so I knew framing exercises around contests or feats of strength would hook him. For 30 days, we had different active missions like completing 5 family runs per week, doing 100 minutes of yoga together, or seeing who could tally the most total pushups.
The kids got really into strategizing to win our monthly wellness challenges. It shifted their perception of exercise from a chore to something exciting. Even my youngest is asking for more challenges!
Let Them Take the Lead
While it’s tempting to over-orchestrate every activity, I’ve found it’s important to also let the kids take the lead and get creative. Recently I’ve been allowing them to head outside first to get the ball rolling. More often than not when I join them, I find my son constructing obstacle courses and my girls making up new cheerleading routines or dance moves.
Stepping back and granting independence – while still monitoring for safety of course – empowers them to enjoy fitness their own way and build skills. Their excitement and pride over mastering their self-designed activities is so gratifying to witness as a parent.
Discover Exercises They Enjoy
I realized with my first son that forcing him to participate in only the sports I liked led him to hate and avoid anything active. So with my younger kids, I started listening to their interests and slowly introducing activities I thought they might enjoy based on their personalities.
My shy daughter opened up through gentle practices like yoga, Pilates, and ballet barre. My high-energy son prefers activities like hockey, martial arts, and bike riding. Taking the time to explore helped them discover passions for certain sports versus just resistance across the board.
Focus on Small, Achievable Goals
When the kids would abandon exercise attempts after one try, I realized an all-or-nothing mindset was sabotaging them. Now I help them set mini-milestones to work up to larger goals. My daughter wanted to run a 5k eventually, which felt daunting, so we set smaller goals like regular family jogs around the block. As she met each target, it built confidence to keep progressing.
Setting manageable, measurable fitness goals versus broad demands about getting in shape helped the kids gain stamina and skills without burning out. It’s about progress, not perfection. Celebrating small wins makes it more rewarding.
Make it a Reward
I’ll be honest – bribery works wonders sometimes! The kids are much more enthusiastic about exercise when they know they’ll earn screen time or a treat afterward. We’ve made it a rule that video games can only happen after an hour of some form of sweaty physical activity. While not ideal forever, it’s a good short-term fix to get them off the couch.
When they see exercise as a gateway to play rather than a barrier, they develop more positive associations that make movement intrinsically rewarding over time. A little clever incentive goes a long way.
Consistency Is Key
Above all, I’ve learned that consistency trumps all when building sustainable fitness habits for the kids. It’s better to do 10 minutes of yoga 5 days a week than a random intense hour once a month. Frequent exposure to exercise cements it as part of everyday life versus a dragged-out chore. With regular activity, my kids’ stamina, confidence, and enthusiasm have grown exponentially.
The days of nagging my kids to exercise are over, thank goodness! Learning their interests, setting collaborative goals, and leading by example have brought fitness into all our lives for the better. Here’s to many more active family adventures together!
Related Links：
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise
