So many of you told me of the healthy indoor activities you’ve developed with your kids during the shut down. There’s so much more you can do with your child besides watching television, although watching a fun documentary with animals can lead to making animal moves, like a walking elephant and pouncing tiger. It’s all about movement and instilling healthy ideals while children are young.
Let’s get physical.
No matter what size your home is, there’s always a few square feet for exercising. You may have worked out with us virtually and requested a program for everyone in the family. Use your imagination and what you have on hand. Do weight lifting with food cans. Try dancing or even do freeze dancing for some isometric training. Balloon volleyball might be a bit too much, but it’s fun if you have room.
Healthy activities can also include learning to eat healthier.
In the earlier days of our country, people stayed home, all the time. Children learned to cook by watching their parent cook. Time inside, whether it’s caused by bad weather or a stay at home order, can also be a great time to teach nutritious meal preparation. Get the kids to help you in the kitchen to make meal plan meals and even get their feed back for some tasty ideas. Try something new for meals or snacks and make that a taste test Friday or Saturday.
Teach children ways to deal with stress before they face it.
Seriously, being a kid can be stressful. While many of the stresses drop away as kids run and play, learning helpful techniques early can also be beneficial, especially if children have difficulty taking tests or speaking in public. Learning mindfulness, breathing exercises or mindfulness techniques is something children can use the rest of their lives.
- No matter what your age, having a sleep schedule is important. That means going to bed at the same time and getting up at the same time, whether it’s a school night or not.
- You can even make eating more fun by using scraps to raise veggies. Putting the base of a celery stalk in water until it roots and then transferring to a shallow container is one way. Use the seeds from fruit to start citrus, apple or fruit trees.
- Take some quiet time and write each other a letter. Make it a habit to include a letter to each person in the family on special and ordinary days. It’s a great way to tell the kids how proud you are and can make a wonderful gift for a child to give to a parent.
- Create a house scavenger hunt. Hide notes with clues about where the next clue will be with the final clue to help locate the prize. You can include activities at each clue site, like do ten jumping jacks before you hunt for the next clue.
For more information, contact us today at Evolution Lifestyle Fitness