In this blog I am going to be talking about family fitness with your preteens and teens. This is definitely a whole new ball game, since engaging with this age group can be more of a challenge.
The reality is that preteens and teens would rather be hanging out with their friends, but don’t take it personally. We just have to really instill in our children the importance of maintaining good family relations and spending time together.
What better way to do this than bringing in some type of exercise? You don’t even have to tell your children that this is your goal.
One of the things my teens absolutely love to do with their friends is have a water fight. But this is something you can do together as a family. You might think its stretching the idea of exercise a bit, but chasing each other around is a great way to burn calories. Fill up water balloons and you are working out those arms by throwing them. Even if you just chase each other with the hose, you are going to have a lot of fun and work those legs.
Hopefully family bike rides are still something you do together as a family. But now you might have to ramp things up a bit. Teens usually enjoy a challenge, so you could have a race on your bike. Or you could see who can go the furthest without needing to stop for a rest. Another idea is to race up a hill and clock how fast it takes each one of you.
Many teens enjoy shooting hoops with mom and dad. My children especially love it when we play “Horse” because it becomes a contest. They so badly want to beat their parents. But again, you are creating memories together and bringing in some fitness.
With teens you can also engage in some more adventurous sports such as water skiing, rock climbing, rollerblading and other fun activities.
What other family fitness ideas do you have for preteens and teens?
Related Articles:
Family Fitness with Your Toddler
Family Fitness with Your 5 to 10 Year Old
Photo by Leonid Mamchenkov in Flickr