There are numerous articles on how to fit walking into your life to improve overall fitness and health, but getting your kids into it might be more challenging. We employ a number of strategies to make that time fun, and it's become precious time for me as the parent of a growing child. TV and video games are out; talking and playing games are in. Try some of these ideas and make up your own. You know your kids better than anyone so you can create the best "tricks" for them.
- Carry treats/toys on your walks. Bouncing a basketball through the neighborhood makes the time pass faster. A Skittle or M&M at the end of each street could get them to go an extra block.
- Do a destination walk like to school, the park or even lunch/ice cream. If the walk to school includes breakfast at their favorite place, even better. Here we're biking to school and stopping for donuts. The donuts got her out of bed earlier so we had time to ride.
- Walk indoors at a Mall or other large venue to eliminate weather complaints (too hot/cold). This is another opportunity to use treats. My daughter gets a quarter to use in the gum machine every lap or two depending on the size of the mall. Even the 3 & 5 year olds in our group understand they get a handful of candy at a certain point (or single small pieces) and focus on that instead of how long we're walking. We sometimes hide a coin somewhere and see if it's still there on the next lap. Any kind of game works well.
- Use outings like the zoo or museum to cover a portion or even all of your longer walks. The miles you walk at Disney are broken up with food breaks, rides, and other attractions. It's OK to do that during your prep.
So go walk and remember, this is supposed to be fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment