Children and adolescents can benefit from regular physical exercise by improving cardio fitness, building strong bones and muscles, controlling weight, reducing anxiety and depression symptoms, and lowering their chance of developing health problems including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 should engage in 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise every day.
The majority of adults associate exercise with going to the gym, running on a treadmill, or lifting weights. For children, however, exercise entails playing and being physically active. Parents should obviously participate and support activities at home while their children have gym class at school, during recess, during dancing class or soccer practice, when riding bikes, or when playing tag.
The benefits of a quick game of tag, regularly
Everyone can benefit from regular exercise. Active kids will have:
- Stronger muscles and bones
- Leaner bodies
- Less risk of becoming overweight
- A lower chance of getting type 2 diabetes
- Lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels
- A better outlook on life
Fit youngsters sleep better, in addition to reaping the health advantages of regular exercise. They can also handle physical and emotional problems better, such as sprinting to catch a bus or preparing for a test.
Consequences for kids that are couch potatoes
Physical inactivity has the potential to:
- Increase the likelihood of becoming overweight or obese by causing an energy imbalance (e.g., spend less energy via physical exercise than ingested through food). 14
- Hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and triglyceride levels), high blood pressure, obesity, insulin resistance, and glucose intolerance all increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Increases the chance of getting type 2 diabetes by 1,5,6.
- Breast, colon, endometrial, and lung cancers are all increased by 1,7.
- As a result, poor bone density develops, leading to osteoporosis.
Tips to keep your kid healthy and fit
Here are our top 10 at-home workout suggestions for a healthy, active family:
Create a makeshift obstacle course
Make an obstacle course at home using what you already have. Easy options include playing hopscotch on the tiles, jumping over sellotape on the floor, executing star leaps, and hopping from one side of the room to the other. It’s surprising how rapidly your heart rate rises.
Encourage your kids to watch fitness and activity videos
Discover some simple age-appropriate YouTube videos and enjoy getting active with your child (even if they don’t). Join your youngster in a yoga practice to relieve stress.
Musical chairs
Play musical chairs as a family to get everyone moving. Assist your youngster in improving their listening and impulse control abilities. The rules are simple: everyone dances while the music plays, and everyone finds a seat when the DJ turns off the music.
Sneak in exercises
Not every workout has to be timed or last an hour. Ask your kids to assist you with housekeeping; vacuuming and sweeping can always be turned into a fun workout!
Spend time together in the garden
Spend some time in the garden and enjoy the fresh air. Kick a ball around or play a game of netball with your friends. It’s also an excellent time to teach kids how to weed a garden. To keep your energy levels up, grab some nutritious foods and go on a garden picnic! When you’re outside, don’t forget to apply sunscreen.
A fun animal race
Animal races are a fun way to interact with your child while also getting you out of your comfort zone. Bunnies can hop, frogs can jump, ducks can waddle, and bears can crawl on all fours. The possibilities are limitless.
Plank challenge
Start a 21-day family competition to determine who can hold a plank the longest. A little healthy competition is never a bad thing. It may even inspire the family to practice, grow stronger, and perhaps participate in some cheerleading?
Family activity board
Every day, a family member selects an activity from a board that the entire family must participate in. For example, on one day, someone may opt to do a YouTube boxing lesson, the next day, a family bodyweight boot camp exercise, dad might select a soccer game the next day, and finally, mom might recommend a yoga session for everyone to enjoy.
Go swimming
Whether your children are beginning to swim or have mastered basic swimming abilities, being in a pool with them is a fantastic bonding experience. If you have a pool at home, this is a fantastic way to burn off some steam.
Have a dance-off
Dancing is a terrific way to get your heart rate up and your endorphins flowing. If you want to learn some new skills as a family, there are numerous entertaining, age-appropriate dancing videos on YouTube. Otherwise, turn on your favourite music and dance!
