Encouraging Activity: How To Make Fitness Fun For the Whole Family!

Physical fitness is vital for all of us, but it’s especially important for kids. However, encouraging activity in a world full of screens isn’t always so easy.

But it can be done!

Early on in life is the time to introduce your children to fitness activities so that being active becomes a lifelong healthy habit.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children engage in 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily.

However, the National Survey of Children’s Health found that only 24% of kids this age actually reach this level. 

Unfortunately, this has led to a surging number of chronic health conditions in both youths and adults.

In the US, 1 in 3 children is either overweight or obese. This is in large part due to physical inactivity.

This comes as no surprise as it has become harder and harder to pull kids away from their phones and devices and get them to engage in physical activity. 

This is where parents that follow a healthy lifestyle can be the greatest motivators for their kids.

Encouraging your children to be active and exercising alongside them will keep the whole family in great shape-physically, mentally, and emotionally.

The key is to make activities fun, use positive reinforcement, and not make physical activity seem like it’s a chore or punishment. 

Keep reading for some more tips on encouraging activity!

Now is the time to introduce exercise and fitness to your kids. Here’s how!

Encouraging Physical Activity

Every day it seems that more and more kids have access to smartphones, tablets, and video game consoles.

When they hear “go outside and play” this almost seems like a punishment to them, and this is sometimes where the first pushback to physical activity occurs. 

But childhood is really the time where kids need to be active.

Physical activity is central to developing muscle and bone strength, flexibility, and coordination.

Plus, when you lay the foundation for fitness early on, it will put your kids on a path to fitness for the rest of their lives.

Kids love to have incentives for pretty much everything they do.

This doesn’t necessarily mean physical gifts or rewards though.

If you want to encourage them to exercise, they will be more motivated if they understand why being physically active is so important to their health.

When they understand how they can better their health and abilities through exercise, this will encourage them to actually want to be active. 

One of the obvious incentives for kids to exercise is to improve their physical abilities.

Whether this is running faster, jumping higher, or improving their skills at a specific sport, any of these goals can be achieved by being more physically active. 

You can encourage your kids to become more active by helping them set fitness goals.

This could be improving a race time, making the basketball team, or setting a high jump record.

The key is to figure out what makes them tick, and then to give them that extra push to help them achieve their goals.

Plus, physical activity now decreases the risk of developing chronic health issues further down the road, like high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

It is never too early to start discussing these issues with your children. 

Discussing these long-term health goals is important early on in a child’s life.

One way to reinforce the benefits of physical activity is to talk to them about your own personal fitness journey and the positive changes you have experienced in your life through exercise and healthy living.

When kids see their parents truly enjoying working out and being physically active this is more positive reinforcement for them.

Make Exercise Fun!

It is much easier to keep your kids engaged in fitness if they are having fun and don’t see it as a chore or punishment.  

A 2016 study from BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine found that a parent’s motivation to exercise was associated with their children wanting to be involved in more physical activity.

If your kids see you having fun with exercise, they will too!

Plus, your kids are more likely to want to be active when they see what they are doing as something fun, convenient, and an activity they find personally rewarding.

Encouraging Cardio Activities

To many children, choosing to do continuous exercise for even 20 minutes, let alone an hour, can be quite daunting.

Most kids like to go out and play hard for a few minutes at a time, essentially alternating brief bouts of vigorous exercise with longer periods of rest.

Luckily, these short bouts of activity done throughout the day all count towards the recommended hour of activity.

Cardio doesn’t have to mean going out to a track and running in circles.

Get outside and shoot around a basketball, kick around a soccer ball, or even just play a fun game of tag.

Anything your kids enjoy will keep them active and will get them a workout without even knowing it.

Add in Some Strength Training

Sometimes just getting more cardiovascular exercise may not be the best answer for all kids, especially those that are already a bit overweight or underactive.

And all youngsters should be introduced to some form of resistance training at an early age.

Another benefit of adding strength training is that it provides its own positive reinforcement.

Kids will see their progress through lifting more weight, doing more reps, and even seeing changes in their strength.

This sense of physical accomplishment will further motivate them to want to be active.

Positive Reinforcement

Using positive reinforcement acts as a feedback loop to continue to motivate your kids to be physically active. 

If you want to encourage kids to be active, you need to know what they enjoy and what drives them.

Using positive reinforcement in all areas of fitness will keep your kids wanting to be active. 

Positive reinforcement is even more essential when your kids are attempting a new activity, or just starting a physical fitness routine.

By using verbal reinforcement and accolades you will let your kids know that you believe in them and that they can achieve anything they put their mind to.

This will motivate them to continue to engage in activities even if they don’t succeed, or things get tough, the first time around. 

Joining alongside your kids in physical activities is also one of the best ways for you to show support and further add encouragement.

Again, when your kids see you enjoying exercise, they will be more apt to want to continue.

Another way to use positive reinforcement to encourage activity is to have your kids invite their friends over for group activities.

Getting a group of kids together for a sports match or game can further increase motivation through social interaction with their friends.

Encouraging Activity For the Fit Family

You can encourage your kids to be active through positive reinforcement along with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

By treating your children as equals and discussing the health benefits of exercise, along with working out alongside them, you can set the foundation for a healthy lifestyle early on in their lives.

It can be hard to get your kids out to ride a bike or play a sport when these physical activities have to compete with cell phones and video games.

But if you let your kids see how much you enjoy being active, and they will be more likely to want to engage in physical activity.

Being a fit parent means that you already made important choices because you wanted to be healthy for your family.

Along with this comes the responsibility of passing down these healthy habits to your kids.

Physical activity is essential for your child’s physical, emotional, and mental health.

You can help them strengthen their muscles and their minds by encouraging regular physical activity.

*Please know that weight loss results and health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on encouraging activity.