Family Fitness

If  you didn't know it before, you will know it now-being physically active is an important life priority beginning in early childhood to build healthy habits. Regular exercise and physical activity  increases physical and cardiovascular health, it can improve sleep, reduce stress, increase attention and learning, and minimize illness. The average family has more commitment than time to meet them, from homework, to practices, to music lessons. It often seems impossible to fit one more thing into the schedule, no matter how good it is for you.

One way to fit fitness into the schedule is to turn it into a family activity. Not only is daily physical activity a healthy goal for everyone in the family, it provides us with an opportunity to spend time together and offers an excellent model for our young children as they see the adults in their family having fun with fitness right along side of them.

Here are a few ideas for family physical activity that everyone can participate in:

• Take a walk: a daily walk is a perfect way to reflect on the day and learn what's going on in each other's live.
• Healthy Habit & Hobbies: taking up a family fitness class such as yoga or karate can become fun for the whole family.
• Keep Physical Activity Simple: getting more active doesn't have to be a planned event. Simply walking to the nearby store instead of driving or parking further away from the door at the shopping mall, or even taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Get creative and involve everyone.
• Outdoor Fitness Fun: Getting outside can be invigorating for everyone and fun from riding bikes to kite flying and from gardening to building a snowman.
• Family Challenge & Competitions: sometimes a little family competition can be motivating. Ask everyone to set a physical activity goal: maybe learning to skip, jump rope ten times without missing, or seeing who can keep a hula hoop going longest. Keep track of progress on a poster board in a central location.
• Fit for a Cause: It seems like there is a walk-a-thon or 5K opportunity every weekend. Participate in a good cause  and turn it into a family activity.
• Minimize Screen Time: take a look how often your child is in front of a screen. From video games to computers and television. It adds up. While not all screen activities is bad, they are, for the most part, sedentary. Set boundaries and minimize screen time and have many alternative active options ready.

Regardless of what you do, it's important to make family fitness enjoyable. having fun together as a family is as important as the physical activity itself.