I couldn’t be more proud of my daughter this year as she’s dived into the world of books with such bursting enthusiasm. She’s literally devouring the books faster than we can get them. Each book is a portal to another time, another place, and whether it’s an adventure or history or compassion, she’s learning a little bit more from each book. So it disturbed me when my husband commented that her reading was great, but he didn’t want her to get fat just sitting around and reading books.
Active Kids
This is an attitude that a parent shouldn’t have about their child’s activity level. First and foremost, kids naturally like to play and to run and jump and swim. From bike riding to swing sets, kids love the outdoors. So getting a child to be more active is not as hard as providing them with opportunities. Because like all good intentions, if parents don’t back it up then it’s not going to go anywhere.
Most parents are busy and overloaded. I know that. I have a lot of friends here through the site and here at home with a lot more kids than I have and sometimes I feel overwhelmed with just one. But as any parent knows, we prioritize because we know the bills need to be paid and food needs to be on the table. We have great intentions but when crunch time comes what’s one of the first things to go out the window? Yep, that trip to the park. Because going to the park means you’re going to have to stop for a while and let the kids run and you can’t always justify that time to your personal schedule.
Mom. Dad. You can.
I know what it’s like when you have to run the hubby to work and that takes an hour and then you get home and the dogs need to go out, the laundry needs to be folded, you have to drop some books off at the library and then you need to work for a few hours. Before you’re done, there’s a trip to the grocery store, dinner to prepare, prescriptions to be picked up and a meeting you can’t miss with the neighborhood home owners association.
It can be overwhelming. You’re not punching a clock to make sure your child exercises 20 to 30 minutes continuously every day. In fact, kids are on the move from the moment they get up to when they go to bed. My daughter and I like to take a bike ride every day if we can. We don’t always get to it, but we try. Some days, we just throw on the stereo and dance around the house while we’re cleaning. Other days, she heads next door to play with her friends in their backyards or she runs out into ours where she can bounce on the trampoline or play with the dogs.
Cater to What You Can Do
We want our kids to be active. We want them to be physically fit. But kids aren’t adults. They don’t go to the gym for 30 minutes every other day and workout and that’s all they need. Kids need a constant diet of activity and running in the yard, playing with their jump rope, swimming in the pool – this all counts. Sure we can do structured activities like dance, gymnastics and martial arts, but unstructured play offers freedom of movement and expression.
So schedule the time to do these things that you enjoy. I don’t necessarily enjoy the hour I wait for my daughter while she is in dance class, but I’ve found a way to make that hour mine by keeping a book in the car. Some weeks, those 2 hours are the only time I get to read all week long. I’ve also been known to take my own walking shoes and get going.
Those daily bike rides? That’s not just about exercising, that’s time with my kiddo. We spend it together and when we’re bike riding, she has my full attention. We talk, we laugh and we explore. Yes, we do miss it some days and that can’t be helped. In the meanwhile, look for the things you enjoy doing together or independently and fold them up so that kids get their activity and their time with you.
Oh and as for my husband? Well, I reminded him that being out of the house 12 hours a day doesn’t qualify him to measure the kiddo’s level of activity. Reading and exercise both do a body good.