Encouraging your children to be active is vital as an active child is more likely to be positive, at a healthy weight and social. Being active when you are younger can also help you in later life to be active and it will help reduce the chance of you getting ill.
Participating with your children in the sports they enjoy is a good way to encourage them to be active. Being a role model is also very helpful and so is making time for them to be active – you also want to make time for other health-related things, such as eating a healthy diet, drinking enough water, seeing a pediatric dentist and more.
To help you encourage your children to be active, keep reading our guide on tips for encouraging your children to be active.
Participating with your children
The easiest way to encourage your children to be active is to participate with your children in the activities they enjoy. By getting involved with them, they are more likely to enjoy the activity and be engaged in it. As a parent, you don’t need to be an expert at the sport, you just need to show some enthusiasm – plus you never know, you may find an activity you thought you didn’t like but actually enjoy it.
Being a role model
It’s always been said that children copy and there is a lot of truth in this. Be a role model to your children and they are more likely to want to be active. When we say role model, we mean, show your children the sports you enjoy and bring them to watch. When watching you participate in the sport, they may want to do it themselves. For example, if you play football on the weekend, every couple of weeks, bring your children to watch you.
Making time for them to be active
Make sure you make time for them to be active. In your weekly schedule, put some time down for exercising and ensuring they are being active. Being active could be anything from going to a soft play group and running around with them to taking them swimming and doing some lengths together. If your children see you enjoying being active with them, they are more likely to want to do the activity again. Plus, doing an activity together is a lot more fun and kills time more than sitting down and watching TV at home. You can also encourage family members to come and join you in being active.
We hope we have given you a few useful pointers to help get your children more active. With a quick Google, you’ll find plenty more ideas. You can also look on social media channels like Instagram or TikTok for video suggestions. What recommendations would you make to encourage children to be more active? Which of the above tips did you find most useful? Is there anything missing in our guide? Let us know in the comment box below, we look forward to hearing from you.
