DR JOANNA MCMILLAN , PhD APD Dr Joanna ’ s goal is to inspire others and provide the information needed to embrace a healthy , active lifestyle so they can get more out of life . Find out more at www . drjoanna . com . au
NINE WAYS TO GET YOUR CHILDREN MORE ACTIVE
Dr Joanna shares her top tips to help your family move more and have fun !
1 Go for pre or post-dinner walks
Whether you head into town or just cruise the neighbourhood , building a walk into your daily schedule ensures that it won ’ t get put off . Take a pram with toddlers and young kids so that they can alternate time in and out of the stroller . Evening walks are a good time for busy families . To make walking more enticing , make a game of it . Look for milestones and landmarks along the way , or create a checklist of items they have to spot throughout the walk .
2 Sneak workouts into other activities
Have your toddler walk instead of riding in the shopping trolley at the supermarket and take the stairs or walk up the escalator whenever possible . Depending on how far you live from school and your workload , another alternative is to drive your kids halfway to school then park the car and walk the rest of the way with them . Doing this just one or two mornings a week is a great way to incorporate exercise into your child ’ s routine .
3 Turn TV commercials into fitness breaks
Invent silly names for simple exercises like squats , push ups , and sit ups and then do them together until the show comes back on . For example , call them ‘ princess sit ups ’ or ‘ Bob the Builder muscle builders ’, which will go down well with the kids . You can also play ‘ coach ’ in
which you take turns ‘ ordering ’ each other to ‘ drop and give me five ’, or ‘ follow the leader ’ in which one person leads the others in fun , simple moves like clapping , wiggling and marching .
4 Hold weekly sports nights
Every Wednesday , for example , get everyone up and moving . One game to play is the fit deck shuffle . Create a series of playing cards featuring family-friendly exercises such as bear crawling or ape walking . Each family member picks a card and performs the exercise pictured until all the cards have been dealt . You can buy a readymade set of exercise cards from various retailers .
5 Walk or run for charity Model the value of exercise , and of giving back to society , by teaming up with your children for a fundraising event or race . Look for local fun runs and sign up the whole family . Doing so can help get you all out and active on the weekends , and if you start to do it regularly , your kids ( and you too ) will be able to see improvements in your ability and fitness , as you progress from event to event .
6 Make a game out of household chores
Make chores such as sweeping the floor fun for kids by pretending that dust creatures are invading your house and it ’ s up to Captain [ insert child ’ s name ] to save the day by capturing them with his broom .
Make believe they ’ re one of the Rescue Heroes and have them save their teddy bears from the slimy pit of the floor by putting them safely in their toy chest . Alternatively , turn folding the laundry into a guessing game . After correctly identifying who owns what piece of clothing , get your kids to help fold them .
7 Put kids to work in the yard
If wind brings down leaves in your area , make a game out of catching them . See who can catch the most . Then rake them into piles . Give the kids childsized rakes so they can help , and have fun jumping in them or take turns covering one another in leaves .
8 Team up for gardening
Kids are great at digging up dirt so let them turn over the soil and help you with the gardening , or plant some new veggies in pots or a garden bed . Research shows that gardening can be as good as weight training when it comes to preventing osteoporosis , and if you ’ re planting vegetables and having the kids involved in watering them regularly , it can become a great opportunity to educate your kids about seasonal eating and the benefits of growing your own produce .
9 Have a dance party
Move the furniture aside and let the kids take turns using a flashlight as a strobe light . Home dance-a-thons are a great way get active and entertained .
SUMMER 2018 YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE 19