This post is brought to us by local guest blogger Rebecca of the blogs Relish and Everything is ticketyboo!
When I first began my own journey towards fitness a few years ago, my goal was to not only lose weight and get healthy, but to keep up with my son, Jacob. Knowing that there was more than just my own health on the line really helped to get me on track and keep me moving forward, both literally and figuratively.
Once I had reached my initial goal, however, I realized that I had just set myself up for a lifetime of providing a good example to Jake; a challenge that I was more than willing to accept.
Your kids may not always listen to you, but they see everything you do. If you want to raise fit kids (And who doesn’t?), the most important thing you can do is to lead by example. By making good health a priority and fitness a normal part of every day, you are opening them up to a lifetime of good habits and a whole picture approach to good health.
One mistake that even I’m guilty of making was assuming that my son would get just as much activity as I did as a child. Blame it on our busy schedules or “helicopter parents”, but the sad truth is that often we ourselves are preventing that. Even something as simple as driving your kids to and from school every day can cut out the 20 minutes of walking (or running or skipping) that they would’ve had by getting there on-foot.
The US Center of Disease Control recommends that children between the ages of 6 and 17 should get 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Aerobic activity (running, jumping, brisk-walking) should take up most of that, but over the course of a week, muscle- and bone-strengthening activities should also be incorporated. Hint: This is a great opportunity to get your kids involved in family workout challenges, such as mini backyard “boot camps” or an all-out race around the block.
No matter what you do, though, be sure to make it FUN. You hate boring workouts? Well, so will your kids! You can still work hard, but the more fun you can make it, the more everyone will want to do it again. Plus, I am a firm believer that no workout is complete without at least some laughter. (No, really! Studies have proven that laughter is an integral part of good health, and has been attributed to lowering stress and improving cardiovascular health.)
Finally, to be a positive fitness role-model to your kids, you MUST demonstrate a healthy body image. I used to think that this was only true when raising girls, but as the mother of a teenage boy, I see first hand that it can be a genderless issue. Self-deprecating comments about your own shape can make a child question theirs. Rather than focusing on your flaws, celebrate your body and all of the amazing things that it can do, and make sure that your child hears you making those positive statements. (They’re only pretending to ignore you.)
Keep Well…Rebecca
Rebecca is a fitness instructor, blogger (Relish and Everything is ticketyboo! ), artist, reluctant morning person, and notorious killer-of-plants. She lives in a foliage-free home with her teenage son, Jacob.
