School has been out for some period of time and the young, tender voices of the neighborhood children can be heard through the slight delta breeze blowing through the trees and amidst the lyrical songs being chirped cheerfully by happy little songbirds, they are saying, “Mom – I’m bored!” The same children that were counting the minutes until school was out and longing for summer vacation are proclaiming that there is “nothing to do.”
I think I tried that once growing up and my mother’s loving response was, “I’ll give you ‘nothing to do’. Now go outside and play.” I am not sure if that really made sense, but if you saw the look on her face, you would have gone outside to play. We did. All summer long. Sprinklers, playgrounds, bicycles, hopscotch, fort building, tree climbing, Kool-Aid stands, hide and seek, freeze tag, movie tag, you-name-it tag – we always found something to do. From the end of lunch until we were called in for dinner, we played. Most nights we played after dinner until the streetlights went on. There was no lack of activity in our lives. We ate fairly healthy and stayed very active. Taking into consideration that there are many different circumstances and situations that come into play these days and life isn’t quite as Donna Reed and Leave it to Beaver as when I was growing up, kids still need to be active. It’s vital to their health.
Keeping kids active helps strengthen bones, decreases blood pressure, reduces stress and anxiety, increases self-esteem and helps with weight management. The health risks that children face today are frightening. Doctors and scientists are concerned about the rise of obesity in children. While it may be a challenge to break some of the poor eating habits kids have developed and even more difficult to get them to put down the video games to go ride their bikes, it is important as parents to help establish these disciplines for them. Not only will it benefit the kids today, but as they get older they will be grateful that you instilled these things in them at a young age.
Here are the top ten fun fitness summer activities for kids, taken from the American Council on Exercise:
1. Soccer – builds agility, strong hearts and teamwork.
2. Martial Arts – involves strength, coordination and mental discipline.
3. Bike Riding – fun for the whole family. Remember your helmet!
4. Swimming – full body workout and it keeps you cool on hot days.
5. Basketball – develops hand/eye coordination and teamwork.
6. Obstacle Course – uses a variety of different skills.
7. Dancing - be creative with hip-hop, ballet or tap. Try the park and rec, or a video.
8. Board Sports – skateboarding, surfing or boogie boards
9. Jump Rope – a classic for coordination and stamina.
10. Ice –Skating, Inline-Skating – another one that is fun for the whole family.
There’s a good start for your kids (and their parents) to get moving. We’ll talk about eating healthier another time. For this month, I want you to encourage your kids – big and small – to add some activity to their days. They’ll have too much fun to be bored and will be ready for bed when it’s time!