How to Raise Kids to Become Active Adults
Your legacy. For all the years that your children are living with you, and the many years they return for holidays, visits, or family vacations, you are creating your family legacy. Small things you do together as a family, your daily activities, the traditions you hold on to, your beliefs, values, and the memories you create all form your family’s lifestyle legacy.
Lifestyle legacy. It sounds nice, but what does it mean? A lifestyle legacy is the impression your family life leaves on your children, your friends, and your community, both today and long after the kids have moved out of the house and started creating families of their own.
A lifestyle legacy is not something that happens overnight, but rather over time. If you’re just starting a family or even if you have school age kids, now is the right time to create a positive, energetic, active, healthy, family lifestyle legacy for your children. By keeping a few key strategies in mind, you’ll be able to weave activity into the fabric that creates your family’s lifestyle legacy. Here’s how to do it:
Create active traditions
Look for opportunities to be active as a family and teach your children new skills. When kids are young an after-dinner pyjama parade’consisting of running, jumping, hopping, and skipping around the neighbourhood’can be lots of fun and get any last bursts of energy out. Meanwhile, the fresh air is good for everyone. As they get older the possibilities are endless: use birthdays, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, and Easter as a chance to do something active every year. A holiday hike, a swimming or roller skating birthday party, starting a traditional Mother’s Day bike ride along the lake for ice cream, or a family-friendly game of tennis are just a few ideas.
Seize the day
Is it beautiful outside or do you find yourselves with an afternoon void of any plans? Gather the family up for an outdoor geocaching adventure or a walk to the park. If you’ve been cooped up in the house all weekend due to rain or cold, take the family to an indoor rock climbing facility to re-energize. A mental tally (or even a physical tally if you choose) of your family’s daily and weekly activity levels can be motivation to inject some fun new ideas that get everyone moving.
Set the expectation
Decide with your family that you will make the most of each and every day (outside, if you can). On lazy weekends I regularly turn off the TV and get the kids outside. Though I’m often met with much resistance at first, I usually struggle to get them back indoors for dinner. Knowing there is an expectation to have some active time during the day can help kids understand it’s part of their lifestyle rather than a chore.
Make it fun
Providing the tools for the kids to engage in active play can be the key. Having a bin outside full of skipping ropes, balls, scooters, chalk, hula hoops, and skateboards can go a long way to encouraging creative play in the summer, spring, and fall. Kid-sized shovels and toboggans just for them will get them excited for the outdoors in winter. It’s also a lot of fun for kids when you get out there and play with them. Use the bin toys to teach your kids the skipping games you played as a child, join in for a hula hoop contest, or build a toboggan hill together in the front yard. An active lifestyle legacy begins with awareness and finding opportunities to be outdoors, creating holiday or special occasion traditions that include being active, and providing the tools to support an active lifestyle for you and your family.
Image of active family from Shutterstock.
