Now that most all the kiddos have returned to school, it’s high time I made good on my promise and shared things we do to help keep the kids active. I’m sure there are tons more great ideas out there and I’d love to hear from you!
1. Walk wherever you can. It’s less than a block to the schoolbus stop yet, many parents drive there and let the car idle until the bus arrives. Unless it’s pouring rain or below zero, we hoof it.
2. Make family play a ritual. We routinely take a walk with the dogs after dinner and inevitably there’s some frisbee throwing/bike riding/foot races going on as well.
3. Limit TV time. And no snacking or homework in front of it either.
4. Limit Video games
5. Encourage after-school play. I love to the let the kids have some free play time immediately after school to unwind before hitting the homework grind. We are lucky in that our state mandates daily PE class for grades K-12 and our school offers “after school sports” as well.
6. Find a balance with scheduled activities. I’m all for activities, but it’s easy to get carried away with too many. For us 2 activities, and not on the same day, seems to work best. This way I’m not driving around like a mad taxi woman and the kids have unstructured time for free play.
7. Put the kids to work in the garden. Although I have nowhere near the garden I’d like, I still like to pop in a few peppers, tomatoes and herbs every spring. Even if you can manage a container or 2, the kids love planting, digging, weeding, and watching the stuff grow. It’s active, a great learning opportunity and it’s cheap too! Plus there’s always the hope they’ll actually eat the stuff –one can dream!
8. Set a good example! I forgot to say this when I did my dietary guidelines post but certainly it applies to that as well. Be a role model for your kids!
