7 Ways to Get Your Kid Moving

For years now scientific experts have warned us of an epidemic of childhood obesity in the U.S. It’s true, and the problem is getting worse. Why can’t we get the situation under control? Because our approach to the problem is flawed. We are being educated about childhood obesity…But we’re just not doing anything about it. What needs to happen to reverse this destructive trend? We have to take an active role in the health and fitness of our children.By following the steps below, you can take action and get serious about changing the lives of you children…and their children.

1. Limit “screen” time to under two hours a day. A recent study showed the nations children watch an average of five hours of television a day. So the first step to helping your children be more active is to restrict their television, video games, computers, etc. You’ll be amazed at what time this frees up.

2. Be a role model as a parent. Set an example and get involved in your own health and fitness. Your children will more often model a behavior before they do what they’re told while watching you do the opposite.

3. Eat out no more than once a week. This is a big one. It’s a challenge in our busy lives to find the time to have all our meals fresh and home cooked. But fast food is killing us. The serving sizes are usually double to triple a single serving size, and they usually contain higher amounts of fat. Remember the saying “everything in moderation”? Our concept of moderate has been stretched and expanded.

4. Get your children involved in an organized physical activity outside of school. School doesn’t count anymore for providing an active environment. Many schools withhold recess as a discipline tool and even ore schools don’t offer P.E. anymore because of budget constraints. There are numerous organizations which offer physical activity programs. They range from team sports to individual sports or just fun fitness classes. There are also organizations who offer scholarships for those families who can not afford to participate.

5. Encourage active play. Sitting in the bedroom playing on the floor with the electronic toy is not active play. Get your children outside and moving. Children will choose to play actively if given the option. Examples of active play are: running around the yard with the dog, riding a bike, scooter, rollerblades or skateboard, playing group sports with friends such as yard football or soccer, tumbling around the yard, hide and seek (outdoors), jump rope, hopscotch, capture the flag. The list is only limited to yours and your child’s imagination.

6.Get the children involved in planning the meals. This is a great way to educate children on healthy nutritional choices. Children as young as 6 are good helpers in the kitchen and will learn a lot about healthy eating by helping do the planning.

7. Have plenty of healthy snack choices accessible. Children will choose healthy snacks if given the opportunity. Fresh fruit, dried fruit, string cheese, yogurt, and granola bars make great healthy snacks.

We can fix the problem of childhood obesity but we need to be willing to invest time and energy in re-educating the youth of our society.