Exercises to keep children fit this holiday season

• Moderate activity will not only protect family from lifestyle diseases but also keep the young ones out of mischief

I tried to read the draft constitution when it was published last week but gave up before I could finish the preamble, or whatever they call the boring first few pages before you get to the really boring stuff inside.

John, the man who gave us Michuki rules and unsuccessfully tried to introduce liver-juggling as a sport to matatu lot, appears to have managed to go further than I and last Sunday he announced that he thinks the draft is a load of…. something.

He will be voting to keep the document we have at the moment when the referendum is called next year.

I haven’t formed an opinion on the draft yet but I will keenly be listening to what the civil society busybodies, the American ambassador, Kofi Annan and Moreno Ocampo have to say.

I would particularly want to find out if the proposed supreme law will abolish politics (and send all politicians to The Hague) and whether it will make physical fitness training a mandatory family affair.

Ask any psychologist with the scantiest knowledge on child development and they will tell you that you mould children right from home and that they learn from the examples you as a parent provides; if exercise is important to mum and dad, the children will take the cue and exercise regularly too and if junk food is the staple in the family the children will conclude eating healthy is freaky.

This holiday try something you have not done before; Don’t escape the madness at home by spending more time with the boys at the local otherwise it will encourage mum to escape to the “saloon” in order to pick the latest neighbourhood gossip.

Instead try to keep your teenage son from that game boy console by introducing fitness activities as part of holiday tradition, assuming of course that you enjoy working out yourself.

If you are a lazy yourself it is unlikely you will have the moral authority to get your tribe outdoors to exercise but it might interest you to know that just moderate activity coupled with healthy eating will protect you and your family from lifestyle diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer and arthritis and save you a lot of money in medical bills.

And if that is not enough to convince you to do something may be this will.

Physical activities are a great way to relieve stress which means your constantly feuding brood will have less energy to spend on sibling rivalry and your home will be a haven of peace this festive season.

You don’t have to join a gym or spend a fortune to get everybody fit and happy and possibly start a tradition to which everybody will be looking forward at the end of the school term.

Before the end of this week just invest in a good pair of sports shoe for every member of the family and an infectious sense of adventure and voila! You are in business.

Vocal chords

Start by sending your maid(s) on holiday the whole of December.

That will mean that the family will have to do the family chores done by the maid, unless you want to live like pigs.

Clean the house in time to music and you will be surprised how much fun and exercise that alone will be.

The next day get everybody to aim at walking 10,000 steps.

From my research, that is what the (American) Surgeon General recommends.

I have no idea why he settled for 10,000 and not five or 15 but Uncle Sam knows best and it works.

Sweaty affair

Start counting the moment you set off, otherwise how else will you know you have done 10,000 steps?

Counting out loud is also a good way to exercise your vocal chords never mind that neighbours will conclude the whole family has gone mad.

Make shopping a family affair. Park the car a kilometre from the shops and let everybody waddle down or up to the shops.

It will be a sweaty affair, no doubt, but trust me.

Do it two weekends in a row and it will melt all that blubber choking your heart and get you to bond with junior.