Help! My Child is a Couch Potato!

Author: Shannon Miller Lifestyle

Okay parents, you’re exercising and getting healthy, but for some reason you just cannot seem to get your kids motivated to do the same.

With all the latest technology with video games, it has become even more difficult to get kids off that couch and moving.

So what’s a parent to do? How do you get your kids to get active and actually enjoy doing it?

 Well get ready, here are 12 great tips to light that fitness fire in them!

1.Think outside the box – Not all kids like sports, but there are many other activities available for them to participate in. Marching band? The school newspaper? Walking dogs? Find something they like to do that will get them active.

2.Participate with them – “Kids love for their parents to be active with them.You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment or special classes to encourage your child to exercise,” says Patricia Nixon, PhD, president-elect of the North American Society of Pediatric Exercise Medicine.

3. Limit Screen time – The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids get no more than one to two hours of screen time a day.

4. Set an example – More times than not kids will imitate what they see their parents do. Just watch this powerful video.

5. Offer positive feedback – Encourage any effort your child is willing to make physically.

6. Bring a friend – Everything is more fun with a friend; riding bikes, swimming etc…

7. Use exercise as a reward – Never as a punishment.

8. Develop a regular routine – You and your child are more likely to stick to an exercise plan if you incorporate it into your life on a routine basis.

9. Make exercise non-negotiable – Getting regular exercise is good for mental and physical health. Stand firm from the get-go!

10.  Make exercising a “cool” thing to do – Kids love the latest and greatest thing…make exercising one of those things.

11.  Let your child decide – Let your kids take turn choosing what activity they want to participate in.

12.  Make it fun! – The more fun they are having the more they will want to keep doing it.

TIP:  Get motivated and get started now! Your kids will eventually thank you for it. 

Source:  “Kid Fitness: When Your Child Won’t Exercise”, webmd.com