Onica Sinclair – Family Fitness

With childhood obesity continuing to rise every year, it is important to make sure your kiddos stay active and healthy. As healthy fit adults, we try to go to the gym and get some cardio and lifting in, but many say this is hard to make time to do when one has kids. So why not get active with your kids?
There are many family fitness activities that your kids can be a part of to help you supplement your workouts or, depending on your child’s level of activity, be your cardio or strength training for the day. One of my daughter’s favorite activities is our mommy-daughter dance party. We make some room and crank up the music! And the best part is, no one else is watching. You can be as silly and entertaining as you want with your dance moves just so long as you keep moving. Trying to keep up with my daughter getting down to Shakira’s “Waka Waka” is good cardio, but following it up with Pharell’s “Happy” and Katy Perry’s “Firework”, now you’re breaking a sweat!
Walking as a family is a great way to incorporate some sneaky exercise in your family routine as well. Whether it’s walking the dog or taking a post-dinner walk, getting 30 minutes of walking in is a great way to get active and spend some quality time together as a family. Now that the weather is getting nicer out, yardwork is another great activity. Whether it’s raking with a kid-size rake or sweeping the sidewalk with a smaller broom, yardwork is an excellent way get outside and get some Vitamin D as a family. Maybe yardwork isn’t your thing so how about a family bike ride? Kids will find any excuse to get out and ride their bike so you might as well join them and make it fun. Or while you’re outside, why not a game of tag? Sometimes as adults we forget what it feels like to exercise through play. Kids do this naturally and really enjoy it when family joins in. It gets some running in, as well as some laughs and giggles.
Don’t want to go outside, no worries. You can always engage in a card game or commercial break planks. When my daughter was younger, she loved helping me with my workouts by being the card flipper, but now that she’s 10, we take turns and she joins in. All you need is a deck of cards and some room. Pick some moves that you can modify based on age and ability level like booty kicks, jumping jacks, push ups, or air squats. The game is simple. Shuffle a deck of cards really well and mix them up and spread them on the floor. Each person takes turns flipping a card. You go by number and suit (face cards count for 10). Let’s say hearts are jumping jacks, spades are air squats, diamonds are booty kicks, and clubs are push ups. If you flip the 8 of hearts, you do 8 jumping jacks. If your flip the queen of clubs, your do 10 push ups (kids can do them on their knees if they like). This goes on until all cards have been flipped. Can’t get them away from the television? Have a seat, watch something with them, but incorporate planking commercial breaks. The duration of the planks can be adjusted to be suited their abilities, maybe just start with one 30 second commercial/plank and increase slowly. It gets them up and planking, and who doesn’t love planking?
Simply teaching them good healthy lifestyle habits can make a world of difference in your child’s life. Sure, elevator rides are fun, but try to get them to take the stairs as much as possible. Don’t circle the parking lot of the grocery store a million times to try to get the best parking spot. Park far away and take the walk with kids (my daughter loves holding my hand on the walk and telling me about her day at school). If you’re really serious and your budget allows for it, consider investing in a family trampoline. Kids can jump for hours on a trampoline and it won’t hurt to hop on with them.
Healthy lifestyle habits also include diet and nutrition. Let them participate in the grocery shopping by being a little sneaky and letting them make selections. I’ve learned the best way is to give them choices. For example, when it comes to snacks, stay out of the cookie aisle. Try giving them a choice like, “Do you want apples or bananas? It’s totally up to you. You can have both with peanut butter!” Or let them help with the cooking. Pick a dish that healthy for the whole family and allow them to help as much possible. They may be a little messier than you, but it’ll be worth it. They can help washing the fruits and veggies, stirring, mixing, forming patties, or heck, teach them how to crack an egg. Side note: letting them help with recipes by measuring is a great way to help them better understand and utilize math concepts like fractions.
Healthy shouldn’t be a goal. It should be a way of living. Teaching these habits at a young age is the best way for children to realize the importance of activity, healthy nutrition, and spending quality time with loved ones. Frederick Douglass once said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” Build your kids up right now and you will create a foundation for a healthy and happy future.