6 Ways To Get Your Kids (And You) Moving

When I was a kid we were usually outside all day, biking, swimming, playing games, running behind the mosquito truck as it pumped chemicals into our lungs and the air. (That’s just what you did back then, who knew?) Life has changed drastically since the 60’s and 70’s. Much of America's farmland has become parking lots while fresh foods are less available and more expensive and the creation of processed foods offer cheap, quick, easy meals. Television now dominates the “quality” time families spend together. Computers and social networking can eat up to 7 hours a day!

As awesome as technology is, our children are paying heavily (yes, a pun) for these modern conveniences. Inside passive entertainment combined with high calorie, chemical laden, fast foods are contributing to an all out epidemic. Childhood obesity in America has doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the past 30 years.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

In 2010, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

These children also have all the risk factors that adult obesity brings:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Higher risk of cancer
• Bone and Joint issues

They are also more likely to become obese adults with potential social and psychological problems leading to depression and low self-esteem.

Here are 6 fun ideas to get your family moving, get healthier, and create a stronger bond:

Create An Obstacle Course

Involve the whole gang to set up indoors or out. Make up little signs for what to do at each "station". Use your imagination! 

• Jump or skip 10 times with a jump rope
• Use a ladder flat on the ground to run through like the football players
• Do ten push-ups
• Crawl under a table or broom hung between 2 chairs 
• Throw bean bags into a bucket or laundry basket
• Draw a trail of circles (or other shapes) on the ground with chalk and HOP from one to the next
• Crawl under or over a row of chairs
• Do ten jumping jacks
• Jump on one leg from point A to point B
• Step over an obstacle such as yardstick between 2 chairs at knee height 

Create A Relay Race
Get some friends involved, divide into teams and have some fun while you're exercising.

• Carry an object on a spoon (hard boiled egg, water balloon outdoors, small ball indoors) 
• Run while balancing a beanbag on your head 
• Carry and pass off a baton or similar object
• Carry a dixie cup full of water without spilling it
• A potato sack race is always a blast (use heavy duty garbage bags if you don’t have any potato sacks laying around)
• Three-legged race (Two people standing side by side have their inner legs tied together

Go For A Hike

Get outside and explore. Chances are there are trails, a park or some other area not too far from home. Get everyone involved in planning your adventure. Print out a map, pack some healthy snacks and water, and hit the trails. 

Plan A Healthy Picnic
This is classic family fun. Bring along a ball or Frisbee and play!

Scavenger Hunt

This one is great inside on a rainy day. Hide objects all over and write up simple clues. It’s really fun if you have each team create the hunt for the other team. Everyone is involved in the creative process as well.

Hop Dots  

Put dots on the ground or use hula hoops or string formed into a circle and have them hop from dot to dot picking up a few things along the way. Whoever picks up everything and gets to the finish line wins!

Go On A Biking Adventure

If you don’t own bikes it’s worth renting them for a few hours. We live in New York City and don’t have space for our own bikes. Some of our best family outings have been renting bikes for a few hours and exploring the city. It’s fabulous recreation and quality time spent together in the fresh air. And I love that we’re all off our computers for a bit!

Sure, it takes some effort to organize activities for the kids and the family, but the reward is well worth it. Not only are you reaping healthy benefits, you’re also setting an example for your kids that is invaluable, and the quality time will become memories you and your kids will cherish forever.