Not so many years ago kids would hurry home from school, get into something more comfortable and run back outside for hours and hours or running up and down. Oh how times have changed. Nowadays children are surrounded by TV, gaming consoles, computers and the internet that keep them locked up in a room somewhere for way too many hours. Because of this, kids of today no longer spend time outdoors. Small wonder why child obesity is a very real phenomenon these days.
With these activities your kids you can get your children moving and they will not even know that they are exercising.
1. Football
Football is a cheap activity – a ball can cost as little as 5, and all you need is a field!
Football is naturally a fast-paced and energetic game and this means your child will gain a lot of muscle as well as build on his or her cardiovascular endurance, balance, coordination, and flexibility. If your kid is already having issues with his or her weight, getting them to play soccer is a great way of making them lose weight.
The social advantages of playing soccer include teaching a child how to lead and be fair as well as discipline, and teamwork. It also improves the self-esteem of your child.
2. Inline Skating
This type of exercise is becoming quite popular among parents and kids today. As with any other type of sport, there is always a slight element of risk involved. With inline skating, it’s no different. The good news is that your child will have to adhere to all safety standards before they can get onto the rink. Children as young as four or five years can master the skills needed to participate in inline skating. It’s not automatic that a child will know how to skate right away. Most times they have to take lessons from a professional. If as a parent you choose this as the ideal sport for your child you will have to invest in a helmet, and knee, elbow, and wrist pads. Physical and social benefits of getting your child to skate include increased muscle strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, cardio fitness, and self-esteem.
3. Skateboarding
Skateboarding has gained its fair share of popularity, thanks to the many benefits it offers so that children can improve their health. This sport can gets the blood pumping at healthy levels, so it is one of the most fantastic cardio workouts. Even pushing around a board on flat ground can boost the cardiovascular system and can burn 8 to 12 calories a minute — an effective way to combat the growing issue of obesity in kids.
Skateboarding can also improve patience in kids. To perform tricks that defy gravity, riders need to be patient and determined. After all, Rome was not built in a day. As kids work toward mastering the moves, they eventually learn to become more patient, which can serve them well in the future.
Like other sports, skateboarding also has its own risks; riders are mostly prone to falls. That is why adhering to safety standards, like wearing protective gear (think cheap skateboard helmets, knee caps, elbow pads, wrist guards, and padded shorts) at all times during practice is a must. Additionally, parents should encourage their kids to first learn the basic moves of skateboarding before trying to mimic the complex ones. Parents can enroll their kids in a professional skateboarding class wherein they would learn to perform the stunts under the supervision of the experts.
4. Softball and Baseball
So many children wish to be baseball players when they grow old and getting them on that path while they are still kids is the perfect way to push them toward that goal. Did you know that a kid who is as young as 5 years can master the skills needed to play T-ball? Once they know how to go about that there’s only moving on up to softball than baseball from there.
Most teams playing in the regular baseball league also run a little league baseball club that’s very popular. So popular that approximately 3 million little children of age 5 to 18 play in it.
Enrolling your child in such a league has numerous physical advantages as well. The list includes improved eye and hand coordination, balance, and strength. Hand coordination can also be increased with the help of softball swing training equipment. Social benefits of playing softball and baseball include instilling a strong sense of teamwork and discipline.
5. Cycling
Nothing excites a child more than the whole journey of learning how to ride a bike. Starting off with the training wheels still on and moving on to riding a two-wheeled bike alone. There is such a strong feeling of freedom, accomplishment, and independence that comes from doing this.
The good thing about learning how to cycle is that once you know how to do it you can never unlearn it. Riding a bicycle is, therefore, a great form of exercise for a child as young as two. Of course, you have to choose the safest Kids’ Bicycles for children of different ages. For example, small children should not be allowed to ride a bicycle that has handbrakes until they turn 9. For the same safety reason, kids should not ride out on the streets without being supervised.
Just like any other type of exercise, cycling has lots of physical benefits. For one, a child learns how to balance and coordinate themselves. They also gain leg strength, improve their cardiovascular fitness and keep their weight in check.
Cycling also instills a high level of self-esteem, community responsibility, discipline, and environmental awareness in a child. Not to mention the fact that your kid will enjoy more hours of freedom and family bonding.
6. Walking
What happened to put on some nice comfortable pair of shoes or children’s wellies and taking a brisk walk outside? Seems so simple but the reality is that not too many people are taking walks nowadays. And this has filtered down to their children. After all, kids emulate what they see their parents doing. So when they see their parents spending way too many hours watching TV or sitting in front of their computers that’s exactly what they do.
Walking is the best form of exercise for both adults and kids. Not only is it an inexpensive way of keeping fit, but it’s also a great way to bond.
Walking helps your kid to master coordination and balance. It also improves the strength of their legs and controls their weight.
