At Cascades, we believe strongly in movement, curiosity and play and constantly encouraging children to love being physically active. Why are we so passionate about this and its importance?
Most of us know intellectually what the benefits of exercise and sports are but still seem to find ourselves unmotivated to plan it into our days. We wanted to outline how vital being active is for us and our children and how by playing or doing sports together, it can create happy, healthy, and supportive environments to not only help your children thrive but excel in the world!
Taking steps to reduce children’s inactive time is important. Many children don’t participate in Sports at all as they spend a lot of time doing sedentary activities like:
- Homework, computer games, internet use or television.
The Benefits Kids Get from Sports
- ‘You can do it!” Developing Self-Esteem and confidence
- “I know what I am doing” Organizational skills.
- There is no ‘I’ in team- understanding the value of team work. Social skills, interaction and cooperation.
- ‘Work hard, play hard” The link between hard work and success.
- “Every failure is an opportunity to grow!” How to win and lose gracefully.
- “Dream BIG!” Goal-setting.Maintaining discipline, focus & consistency to achieve their goals
- “Healthy Body, Mind & Sprit” cardiovascular health, help control their weight, improve mental health & mood.
Encourage your child to be physically active
Fun activities you can do with your kids!
Parents can help their children to be physically active in a number of ways, including:
- Lead by example – be physically active yourself.
- Make sure that some family outings offer opportunities for physical activity, such as playing sport together.
- Encourage your child to walk or ride their bicycle for short trips, rather than rely on you to drive them.
- Support your child’s efforts in sport. Make sure you’re there at each match, cheering them on from the sidelines.
- Set time limits on sedentary activities like computer games and television.
- Consult with your child’s educator on ways to encourage greater participation in sports and physical activity.
- Go for pre- or post-dinner walks
- Crank up the music and boogie down.
Sneak workouts into other activities. Have your child walk instead of riding in the cart at the supermarket, and take the stairs or walk up the escalator whenever possible.
Make a game out of household chores. "It started when my daughter would ask, 'Is that mine?' and it grew into 'Guess whose this is!'" when folding the clothes.
Create a fitness challenge with your child: Invent silly names for simple exercises like squats, push-ups, and sit-ups, and then do them together till the show comes back on.
References: Better heath channel, Beachereport, Novak Djokavic foundation, Todaysparent
