Monday, January 08, 2007
Keeping children fit and active
How many of you parents make a conscious effort to keep your child active and outdoors as much as possible, weather permitting? I'll bet most of you do!
With childhood obesity on the rise, Oronzo and I are doing our best to keep Snuggle Bug active and fit. We feel that it's not just about trying to prepare healthy, well-balanced meals and limiting TV time, it's about lots of active playtime as well.
This past weekend we took Snuggle Bug to a park to feed the ducks. He ran, jumped, climbed on short walls, and enjoyed the outdoors.
We also visited Oronzo's parents over the weekend and took Snuggle Bug for several long walks, let him commune with horses and donkeys and we even went to a National Park for a picnic and to take a hike up to see some neat cliff dwellings.
The best part about our efforts to keep Snuggle Bug fit and active is that, by default, we working on that for ourselves as well! Oronozo and I try to lead by example, knowing this will be important as Snuggle Bug grows older.
I'm curious, what do you do to try to help keep your child fit, at any age?
Labels: children's activites, family, health, parenting, Snuggle Bug, toddler
10 Comments:
well weather permitting here in FL, we try to walk everyday or bike ride....
Even when the weather doesn't let us get out (my son is just 8 months and we're in Canada) I bring him downstairs with me when I work out so he is exposed to exercise as "normal."
We have exercise time every day.
We have dance parties where we turn up the fun music and shake and boogie, and twirl until we collapse in exhaustion.
We have races in the backyard almost daily.
We have gymnastics that Mommy teaches daily.
We also have regular "jumping time" where the kids - brace yourselves - jump all over the couches and basically make the family room an obstacle course and they go nuts - it's great.
On weekend when we are more mobile, I take them to playgrounds where they can climb higher, swing on swings, and all that fun stuff. And we walk almost everywhere in our little town - that helps!
We spend at least an hour a day either outside (weather permitting) or inside being active. It always ends up more than an hour and always so much fun!
Good for you guys! That is awesome! I have to admit, our time outside has been severely limited as of lately. There's over 2 feet of snow on the ground still. =( Ahhh... life!
sounds like you're off to a great start! I don't have to do much to encourage activity in Kayla - she's active enough on her own LOL
I'm kind of with Michelle -- Isabella is so active right now, she literally will be running around the room. We like to do alot of things outside, but I have been trying to do some things with Isabella inside now that the weather is cold -- like today we did exercises by pretending we were things, hopping like a bunny, swimming like a fish, etc. I think its great that parents start things early with kids too. And you're right, we need to lead by example.
In Michigan the weather is unpredictable for about four to six months out of the year. Making outdoor play come and go. They still bundle up and play when it is not too extreme.
For that reason we spend a lot of time at the YMCA, where we swim, climb, play racket ball, run and have lots of fun.
When the weather is nice we ride bikes, walk, climb, swing, do obstacle courses and anything active.
Keep giving him variety and he will learn more than you can ever imagine. and be healthy to boot.
Don't you find that Snuggle Bug just sleeps better and is happier when he has a chance to run around and breath fresh air? That to me is one of the biggest benefits.
We bought a zoo membership, which means we can zip on over there for just an hour or two anytime we want (which is perfect for a 20 month old's attention span.) Right now, it is good exercise for me as I briskly stroll Adrianna around in her stroller. Next year though, I know she will want to do the walking herself.
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