Family Fun

Exercising as a family not only strengthens ties between parent and child, but also makes regular physical fitness a priority for a lifetime.

Try these 10 tips to successfully combine fitness time and family time:

1. Let the kids choose the activity.
Children need (and want) to see fitness as a fun activity, not just another task. Some children prefer to be on a team, while others are more comfortable being on their own or in a small group. Don't push your child into anything he or she does not want to do - try to steer them in a direction that suits their temperament, talents, and interests.

2. Encourage teamwork, not competition.
Many children feel uncomfortable in a competitive atmosphere, even within a family. Being active together can provide the perfect opportunity for a family to work as a team.

3. Aim for consistency.
Encourage your children to start a regular fitness routine, such as biking with friends after school, hiking with the family on the weekend, and being involved in group sports activities.

4. Provide positive feedback.
There is nothing more important than providing children with positive encouragement, both verbally and physically. No matter what their level of skill, help them see fitness as fun and enjoyable.

5. Be a health role model.
The best way to motivate your children is to set a healthy example yourself.

6. Use exercise as a bargaining tool.
Physical activity not only burns calories and builds muscle and bone, it also helps develop discipline. Making exercise part of your daily routine requires prioritizing and the creation of new habits. Reward work well done.

7. Assign physically challenging chores.
Yard work, dog walking, vacuuming, putting away the groceries, taking the trash cans to the curb, and helping with easy home maintenance activities are just a few examples of chores that not only teach structure and time management skills, but that also will work up a sweat.

8. Organize family vacations around physical activities.
When you take vacations, visit places that will provide your family with built in fitness possibilities with a focus on the outdoors. The options are endless!

9. Reduce access to sedentary lifestyle enablers.
Place limits on television or computer time. Family time spent around the television is not quality fellowship together. If you don't want to get rid of the television all together, watch with your child for a set period of time before turning it off. Create media- and electronic-free zones in the bedrooms, monitor television programming, and keep children under the age of two from watching, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

10. Revive the walk to school.
If you live close enough to your child's school, try walking instead of hopping in your car. You could form a daily or weekly walking group consisting of your child's neighborhood friends and their parent(s)—making the trip not only healthful but also fun.
Parents around the world have been successful in developing scheduled Walking School Bus programs in which adults escort children walking to and from school. The "human bus" stops at designated pick-up spots so students can "board." Students are accompanied by an adult "driver" as well as a "conductor" at the rear of the "bus." Millions participate in the annual international I Walk to School week.

Try some of these fun physical activities.

1. Rent a canoe or raft and row around in a local lake or river
2. Organize a softball game in the park—your children will especially love it if you serve a picnic lunch afterward
3. Check out a new hiking trail
4. Look at bugs and worms
5. Play badminton
6. Fly a kite
7. Pick spring flowers and take them to an elderly friend or neighbor
8. Toss a frisbee
9. Go inline skating
10. Help an older neighbor get their garden ready for planting
11. Fish
12. Host a Maypole celebration or Easter egg hunt
13. Play in the mud
14. Visit the zoo
15. Chase butterflies