Why Keeping Children Active Is So Important

In todays world there is a big emphasis on staying fit and leading a healthy life. This is something that we should be doing with a combination of exercise and healthy eating.

This is something that we as parents should be teaching our children from a young age. It’s about teaching our children the benefits of a healthy lifestyle that they can take into adulthood and hopefully they will stay healthy and fit all their lives.

I’m a father of eleven year old twin girls and we have always taught them to stay active. Not by telling them, but by example. Their mum has always been a runner and has actually run the London marathon. Myself, I have always done a lot of cycling. This has encouraged the girls to be active and thankfully they love all types of sports which keeps them very active.

The girls have just started high school and I was truly amazed at the amount of diverse after school sports clubs that they are able to take part in. There was certainly never that kind of choice when I was in high school.

There are of course many ways of keeping your children active and not necessarily the obvious ones. Here is a selection of ways you can encourage your children to lead a fit and healthy life.

1. Rollerskating/Skateboarding

Nowadays, nearly all community parks will have a skate park. If your child likes the idea of skateboarding, roller-skating or doing tricks on a scooter, then there is definitely no shortage of places to go for them to enjoy this type of activity.

It is also a relatively inexpensive activity to get them started as they only need a skateboard or roller skates to get going. My one twin daughter loves roller skating and started when she was quite young. She’s now become very proficient and can actually do a few tricks. At the moment we usually take her to the local skatepark, but I see a time when she will be making her own way there to meet up with her friends to go roller skating or even skateboarding.

2. Football

My other twin daughter is football mad! She plays it constantly and even got me to coach the team she is involved with. Football is perfect way to stay active and you only need a football to enjoy playing the game. They can meet up with all their friends at the local park and have a game that lasts all afternoon. The benefits are massive! From getting out in the fresh air getting exercise and being active.

3. Cycling

I have cycled all my life and it’s something that I still do a few times a week. It’s a fantastic way to stay active and the girls, as they were growing up, saw me cycling and one of them decided she wanted to come out on bike rides with me. This made me very happy and she was eventually doing 10km rides and loving every minute of it.

As you can see there are many ways to enjoy exercising and having a healthy lifestyle. Teaching our children to be active at a young age is a brilliant way to lead a healthy lifestyle as adults.

Do you encourage your children to be active? I would love to know how in the comments below.