SproutVine Growing Together
Here are five ideas for family fitness that can get you all moving.
1. Make Time to Play
Set aside 30 minutes three times a week to do fun exercises with your kids. Make it a part of your after-school or after-dinner routine. If your kids are young, they might like hopscotch or hide-and-seek. Kick a soccer ball around or shoot hoops with older children.
2. Walk or Bicycle Everywhere You Can
Use muscle power: Bike or walk to the grocery store, library, or to your child’s school or sports events. Go for a 30-minute family walk after dinner instead of heading right for the television. Track everyone’s steps with a pedometer, and try to add more distance every week. Use a family exercise log or colorful stickers to track your progress. Put your log or chart on the refrigerator as a reminder to keep up the good effort together.
3. Plan Active Family Gatherings
Serve up family fitness as well as cake at your child’s birthday party by planning active games such as tag or relay races. Older kids might enjoy throwing a dance party.
4. Sing and Dance While You Clean
Set aside time for household chores and do them together as a family. Play music as you clean, and take turns choosing favorite songs. Younger children love to help out and can pick up toys or sweep floors while dancing with the broom. Older kids can dust, vacuum, and help make beds.
5. Make Yard Work Less of a Chore
Enjoy seasonal yard work together. Younger children can help plant and tend a garden. Older kids can rake leaves into a pile — and then jump in it. Make snow shoveling fun for all by building a snow fort or creating a family of snow people.
