How to Raise a Healthy Kid

With video games, television and computers, it’s becoming harder to keep kids interested in fitness. These fitness tips will get the ball rolling for raising a healthy kid.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Get involved. When you provide a positive example about health, fitness and nutrition, your child is likely to take more of an interest.

2. Find fitness in everyday activities. You don’t have to go out of your way to come up with an exercise routine or structured activity to get your child in the fitness groove.

3. Take a daily walk. Get outside when the weather is nice, and brave the cold for even a little bit if it’s chilly. The health benefits of walking every day are significant and it provides an excellent opportunity to reconnect and enjoy nature.

4. Sign your child up for a class. Whether it’s swimming, gymnastics, yoga or dance, there are a lot of fun classes available that provide age-appropriate fitness opportunities.

5. Develop your own fitness rituals, from daily stretches to yoga or high-energy dancing when energy starts to dip!

6. Rent or purchase fitness DVDs. There are so many DVDs that focus on raising healthy kids—some that feature fun characters, others that appeal to older kids’ interests.

7. Purchase a game that promotes movement. There are a variety of fun games that you and your child can do together that get them up and moving.

Tips & Warnings

• Tap into your child’s imagination for a fun activity. He’ll love the opportunity to create his own obstacle course, play a pony race game, or be the leader in an active game of Simon Says.
• Make it fun and don’t give up if her interest drops off. If your child has a short attention span, then incorporate small activities throughout the day, rather than trying to get her to participate in a 20 minute workout.