According to the Canadian Pediatric Society, the majority of kids in Canada aren’t active enough, and many of them are obese.
Thanks to poor eating habits and lack of physical exercise, children simply aren’t as healthy as they should be. As a parent, you can play a big role in improving the activity levels of your children and helping them achieve peak health.
Physical activity has numerous benefits for children. It helps them manage their weight, strengthens the heart, and leads to strong bones and muscles. Fit kids feel better about their bodies and themselves and they may be more relaxed and able to sleep better. Flexibility, posture and balance are all positively impacted by increased activity.
Here are a few tips to help you give your children the benefits of increased physical activity and healthy eating:
Get Healthier as a Family
Set a goal to improve the family’s health, not just the health of one child. Sit down as a family and plan healthy meals, throw out junk food and identify fun physical activities you can do together.
Look for Ways to Increase Activity
Sports and dance classes are great ways to incorporate activity in your child’s day, but an hour of dance or soccer a week isn’t enough. Put limits on sedentary activities such as watching TV and encourage children to fill their time with bike rides, tobogganing, and other activities. You can also give your child active chores like shovelling the driveway and carrying the groceries when you walk home from the store.
Encourage Smart Eating Choices
Healthy eating is about making good choices as often as we can. Replace unhealthy snack foods with fruit, vegetables and foods with lots of bran, wheat and rye fibre. Make water the most easily available beverage in the house and, if you do buy junk food, get the smallest package possible.
For more ideas, visit: Caring for Kids