How to get your child interested in being active

Many of us go to great lengths to be fit. We join gyms, enrol in fitness classes and work extra hard to ensure we are in healthy physical form.

Most, however, have never thought much about how fit our children are. Fitness is not just about whether your child is slender or chubby, it is all about total well being. For this reason, it is important to encourage your child to be physically active from a young age. This involves a lot of creativity and innovation on the part of the parents.

Stop using technology as your babysitter

Every parent finds themselves tempted to leave the children in front of the television or computer to entertain themselves while we carry out our chores. Although this is convenient, it is not necessarily in the child’s best health interest (especially if that is what they spend the entire day doing).

Instead, get them playing outdoors. Get them to understand and enjoy their surroundings. Most of them spend way too much time indoors (courtesy of their school programme) and thus we must provide them with an alternative environment once they are home.

Turn chores into exercise

Children generally do not like chores and often go to great lengths to avoid doing them. This is because they appear tedious and boring.

You can, however, change the mind-set of your child. For example, you can have your children compete to see who can perform a particular task faster or let them compete against a stop watch.
They can also perform the task to music (for example, you must finish making your bed before the end of this song). Occasionally, join in the competition with your own tasks. This not only ensures that the child gets his/her chores done but they also put in some cardio work out while at it.

Avoid using sweets as treats/rewards

Although the occasional sweet treat is not a problem, you need to try and change your child’s perspective of a reward from sweets to physical activities like a day out hiking, going to the park to play, boat-riding or horse riding. This way, you can cultivate their interest in the outdoors and physical activity.

Create an outdoor play area

For those of us who grew up in the countryside, the world was literally our playground. We had lots of open space and our parents had no qualms about letting us go out exploring out in the morning.

Due to space constraints, most homes in towns and cities do not have a play area. For this reason, as parents, we must do our best to create our own little playground for our children.
A basketball hoop, a skipping rope, a hula hoop and an inflatable baby swimming pool are a good way to start. These can be used even in the smallest of compounds to allow for your child to play and enjoy themselves.

The entire family must eat healthily

It is not unusual to have parents ensure that their children get multiple servings of fruits a day yet they themselves never touch these fruits. Children tend to think that whatever their parents are eating is the best option for them.

For this reason, parents need to lead by example and eat just as healthily as they expect their children to. Ideally, all children should get 5-6 servings of fruits/vegetables daily. They should have plenty of fluid (stick to water, milk and fresh juices).

Milk is particularly crucial as it contains calcium which is vital for healthy teeth and the child’s growing bones. Avoid the habit of always drinking soft drinks which tend to be very high in sugar and do not contribute to the child’s vitamin/mineral requirement.

Family ‘team building’ day

Find an activity where you and your children can get involved together regularly. Young children in particular love to play with their parents. It is also an important way for parents and children to bond.

For example, activities such as paintballing, treasure hunting, camping, swimming and boat riding are all easy-to-do family activities. Many hotels and campsites which organise corporate team building activities are also able to do the same for smaller groups such as families.

Consider martial arts and dance

Martial arts and dance classes are a particularly good way of working on your child’s mental and physical well-being. They learn how to improve their concentration, co-ordination and physical fitness all at once.

There have been concerns that teaching a child martial arts makes them violent but this has not been found to be necessarily true. However, if this is a concern for you (perhaps due to your child’s hyperactivity) discuss it with the instructor before enrolling him/her in the course.

Team sport vs individual sport

As your child grows older, he/she may want to enrol in some form of organised sport. The choice of sport will depend on your child’s personality and abilities. Some children thrive in team sports such as soccer, volleyball and basketball.

Others excel in individual sports like running, tennis, swimming or golf. With the help of the games instructor or your child’s personal coach, find out what works best for your child and encourage them in that direction. Do not force your child to have similar interests as yourself as this may make them resent you.

In addition, do not make them continue to engage in a sport which they are obviously poor at as this may make them give up on sporting activities for good.

Get your child interested in fitness from an early age. After all, ‘mtoto umleavyo ndivyo akuavyo’.