Time for Exercise

School is out or about to be out for a lot of children. This is the time of year that many children declare themselves “bored” as they sit for hours in front of the television or computer.

But it’s also a great time for them to exercise. The weather is perfect and there are many fun fitness activities for them to try.

Start off by limiting their screen time, just as you should do during the school year. Children have so much reason to go and do interesting things during the summer; there’s no reason to encourage them to do nothing memorable.

Encourage the fun kinds of exercise. Swimming, riding bicycles, playing tag and so forth can all be great exercise for kids. You don’t need to start them on weight lifting when they can get themselves fit in a much simpler way.

Make sure you include family activities. Swimming will just naturally be a family activity when children are younger and require more supervision, but it can remain a wonderful family activity. You can also include hiking around various natural areas around where you live, trips to the park and so forth.

Plan a camping trip or something else to keep the kids busy. You can sign them up for day camps on topics they may enjoy or that keep them active. You will have the most trouble with boredom when your kids don’t know what to do with their time.

But don’t limit them to planned activities. Having time to do something spontaneously is one of the delights of childhood.

Have a great variety of healthy snacks available. I’ve found that the frozen berries at my local Costco, for example, cost less per ounce than fruit snacks. Obviously these have much less sugar, and my kids just wolf them down. Healthy snacks don’t have to be boring. You can also keep a great variety of fruits and vegetables around while only rarely buying sodas and candy.

The more you encourage your children to live in healthy ways, the easier it will be for them. If bad habits are already set you may encounter some resistance, but this generally fades with time.

And make sure you all have fun.

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