5 ways to get your kids to be more active

Did you know that…

• Children on average spend nearly 3 hours a day watching TV?
• 50% of kids exercise once they hit 12 years of age!  That’s not very much.
• Sleep apnea is more common in overweight children
• Teenagers that are overweight have a 70% chance of staying overweight when they become adults.  (even becoming obese)
• Does your child have type 2 diabetes?  85% of children with this are overweight.

Here are 5 ways to get your kids more active

1- Go outside.  Take them to a park.  Today!

2- Get active indoors. If you can’t find a park (too hot or if it is raining), I have had play dates in church halls.  I have called the church and asked if we could come with soccer balls and beach balls and play around.  I have had MOPS play dates there, so there end up being about 20 kids.  They have never turned us down.

3- Turn off the TV and send them out to play!  One of our kids hates to be outside in the summer heat, so I plan around this by saving the  TV for rest time- the hottest time of the day (around 1:00).  I try to keep them cool with a lot of water activities (Here is a tutorial for a DIY water table).  Water squirters are a huge hit, as well as sprinklers.

4.  Have an obstacle course.   My brother and I used to do this often when we were younger.  We would set up our basement as an obstacle course and time each other.  This would be something fun to do outside or inside!  Get creative!

5.  Get active together!