The more encouragement you can give your child to be active better incorporate some form of activity into their daily routine, such as walking or cycling to school and playing outside rather than switching on the TV. Taking the family dog for a walk is the perfect excuse to leave the television behind.
Get together as a family and choose an activity that you can all do, such as walking, playing tennis, football or swimming. Encourage them to be active in the playground with activities such as skipping a great aerobic and weight-bearing form of exercise and hopscotch can easily be done during break time and are both effective ways of keeping fit.
Try and make things as fun as you can. Get your kids to try new activities such as playing badminton, which involves a lot of running and jumping; playing on a trampoline, which helps children with balance, improves coordination and gives a cardiovascular workout; and roller lading, which is fantastic for leg tone and coordination skills. Investigate after-school clubs and summer programs, to provide your kids with plenty of opportunities to be active friends.
