How to Increase Physical Activity in Children

Choose to walk or ride a bike rather than taking the bus or car to school., Encourage your child to play with your family pet, rather than video games., Bring your child to a playground or park., Let your child choose an activity that interests...

8 Steps 3 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Choose to walk or ride a bike rather than taking the bus or car to school.

    If your child is too young to do this on his own, take the time to walk or ride with your child to school.

    Doing this together will help your child to see that you also believe that physical activity is important.

    Of course, you need to make sure that there is a safe way to do this.

    Do not encourage your child to ride a bike alone if there is not a bike lane to ride in.
  2. Step 2: Encourage your child to play with your family pet

    Have your child throw the ball for your dog, or play with the cat.

    You can also encourage your children to play games with each other if you have more than one child. , There is a good chance that your child will make new friends with other children when you bring him to a common public area.

    A playground can be a great place to get active since it is spacious and filled with climbing structures and slides.

    If the park near your house does not have a playground, encourage your child to play imaginary games in the trees or grass.

    Bring a ball and kick it around with your child. , Another way to encourage your child to get physically active is to give him some power in the matter; if he gets to decide what kind of physical activity he does, he will be more likely to get excited about it.Ask your child what his favorite physical activities are.

    Or maybe, you can discover what active sports he likes the most by having him try a lot different activities.

    From there, you will be able to sustain his interest and he will most likely stick to the activity.

    Ask if your child would like to go to a sports camp.

    These camps will expose your child to a bunch of different kinds of sports.

    At the end of the camp, he may have found the kind of sport he wants to try for a longer period of time.

    Sign your child up for the sport (or sports) that he wants to try. , There is high probability that the school your child is attending has physical education as part of its curriculum.

    However, you can also enroll your child in after school physical activities, like swimming lessons or dancing classes., If you are going on a vacation or weekend outing, you can choose one that promotes physical activity.

    For example, rather that taking your family to go see a movie, you could go hiking or camping instead. , Not all physical activities need to be structured; there are silly and fun activities that can also encourage your child to be more active.

    Get creative! Some example activities could include:
    Dancing to the child’s favorite tune Flying a kite at the beach Riding bicycles Playing a game of table tennis together with other family members Regular swimming at the local pool Routine walking of the dog Throwing a Frisbee Jumping on a trampoline
  3. Step 3: rather than video games.

  4. Step 4: Bring your child to a playground or park.

  5. Step 5: Let your child choose an activity that interests him.

  6. Step 6: Enroll your child in physical education classes after school.

  7. Step 7: Choose an active family outing.

  8. Step 8: Perform unstructured exercise programs.

Detailed Guide

If your child is too young to do this on his own, take the time to walk or ride with your child to school.

Doing this together will help your child to see that you also believe that physical activity is important.

Of course, you need to make sure that there is a safe way to do this.

Do not encourage your child to ride a bike alone if there is not a bike lane to ride in.

Have your child throw the ball for your dog, or play with the cat.

You can also encourage your children to play games with each other if you have more than one child. , There is a good chance that your child will make new friends with other children when you bring him to a common public area.

A playground can be a great place to get active since it is spacious and filled with climbing structures and slides.

If the park near your house does not have a playground, encourage your child to play imaginary games in the trees or grass.

Bring a ball and kick it around with your child. , Another way to encourage your child to get physically active is to give him some power in the matter; if he gets to decide what kind of physical activity he does, he will be more likely to get excited about it.Ask your child what his favorite physical activities are.

Or maybe, you can discover what active sports he likes the most by having him try a lot different activities.

From there, you will be able to sustain his interest and he will most likely stick to the activity.

Ask if your child would like to go to a sports camp.

These camps will expose your child to a bunch of different kinds of sports.

At the end of the camp, he may have found the kind of sport he wants to try for a longer period of time.

Sign your child up for the sport (or sports) that he wants to try. , There is high probability that the school your child is attending has physical education as part of its curriculum.

However, you can also enroll your child in after school physical activities, like swimming lessons or dancing classes., If you are going on a vacation or weekend outing, you can choose one that promotes physical activity.

For example, rather that taking your family to go see a movie, you could go hiking or camping instead. , Not all physical activities need to be structured; there are silly and fun activities that can also encourage your child to be more active.

Get creative! Some example activities could include:
Dancing to the child’s favorite tune Flying a kite at the beach Riding bicycles Playing a game of table tennis together with other family members Regular swimming at the local pool Routine walking of the dog Throwing a Frisbee Jumping on a trampoline

About the Author

J

Joshua Myers

Enthusiastic about teaching pet care techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.

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