Kids are naturally active individuals. But with all the gadgets surrounding them, times have changed, and it can get quite challenging to get your kids up and about. Admittedly, playing outside has become less of the norm and more of a luxury for the kids of today’s day and age. But as much as it can be tempting to let gadgets babysit your children, there is no substitute for physical play, as it keeps your children’s development at its full potential.
If you are one of the many parents who might need a bit more push and inspiration on how to get your kids active, here are some tips that you can apply:
- Explore Other Options
For instance, your child has been swimming for a long time now. Hence, you relied on this daily swimming activity as part of their physical routine. However, all of a sudden, your child seems to have lost interest. They no longer like to swim, and it looks like you have to drag them just to get them in the pool.
When this happens, don’t force it. Explore other options instead. Children, particularly younger ones, tend to get bored from doing the same physical activity over and over again. Sometimes, they crave for variety. It is up to you as a parent to give them this variety, and for you think of other sports or activities that they might be interested in. An excellent place to start searching is to see what activities their best friends are doing. The presence of buddies from school can be one of the best motivating factors to get your kids excited about doing physical activities rather than staying indoors in front of the television.
- Practice What You Preach
As parents, your children look up to you as their role models. To them, you are their world and their superhero. There is no one else like mom and dad. With this, therefore, comes the responsibility for you to show that you are a good role model for your kids. If you want them to get physically active, then you yourself must do it, too. You cannot just be the helicopter mom and dictate what your children should do when they can see that you are a couch potato yourself.
- Join In The Fun
Yes, you are busy. Every parent is. Whether you are working or a stay-at-home parent, there always seems to be something that you have to do that takes time away from doing any physical activity. The best way for you to juggle spending time with your kids and exercising is to join in the fun. Children love it when their parents play with them. And if you do, you are, in effect, encouraging them further to get physically active. Because they love to play with mom and dad, you might be surprised to find out that, soon enough, they will be the ones inviting you for a good run around the park or a game of catch. Or if you have your trusted 8ft trampoline (or if you are looking to buy one), it’s a good way for you and your kids to both have fun and exercise at the same time!
- Limit Screen Time
This piece of advice might be one of the most overrated ones, but you also cannot deny its effectivity. As a responsible parent, you should control their screen time. When you do this, you are hitting two birds with one stone. Not only are you encouraging your kids to go outside to socialize and play, but you are also helping them enhance their development. It should come as no surprise that too much screen time is harmful to the mental health and overall development of your child. The less time they spend watching videos, the more time they have to play real games and have more active fun. Plus, think about all the good memories and experiences that you will be sharing as you play! This is so much better than just being glued to a screen the whole day.
Conclusion
As a parent, you have a significant role to play in your child’s development. A part of this also has to do with the active physical play routines that you are going to incorporate into your child’s daily routine. When your kids start to get active, praise them for doing so. This push and inspiration from you are enough to get them more motivated for physical activities. Whether it is engaging in sports or free play, there is no denying the fact that, even to this day, kids still need to go out and play.