Modeling Movement: How Families Can Prioritize Fitness At Home

Parents are responsible for modeling healthy behaviors for their children at all phases of life, and while there are many different philosophies out there on what serves children best in the long-term, others aren’t up for debate.

In today’s high-tech world, for example, parents can’t just limit children’s screen time, but also need to reduce their own in order to foster meaningful connections.

Really, though, this approach – practicing what you preach – is the most productive way to teach children healthy behaviors, and that includes moving your body every day for health and pleasure.

Though you or your partner may have your own independent fitness routines apart from the rest of the family, finding ways to move as a family has many benefits, and it shouldn’t be complicated.

These 3 strategies can get you all up off the couch and away from your phones, as you explore new ways How Families Can Prioritize Fitness At Home.

How Families Can Prioritize Fitness At Home

Be A Mirror

Little kids really want to be like their parents.

Meanwhile, parents just want a few minutes of peace and quiet and to check a few things off their to-do lists.

Split the difference by inviting your young ones to be part of your workout with a game of mirror.

Much like Simon Says, this activity calls on your child or children to mirror your body movements as closely as possible, and can work with anything from a simple bodyweight routine to a set of yoga poses.

As a bonus, if you have exercises you’d like to do, such as a recommended workout from an online personal training program, you can “mirror” your instructor while your kids mirror you.

Dance It Out

Setting aside fitness for a second, another activity that can be a major chore with young children is cleaning – but what if you could knock out both activities at once?

This is another activity that will likely only work with younger kids, since tweens and teens are likely to deem you embarrassing, but while it works, turn up the tunes and have a dance party while you clean.

Sing karaoke with the broom, run tidy-up relay races, or see who can find the most pieces of trash or put the most items back before a buzzer goes off. 

Let Them Teach

With little kids, you can turn just about anything into an excuse to run around, wiggle it out, and get silly, but it gets harder with older kids.

So, while you can always fall back on defaults like planning family hikes and the like, why not try switching roles and letting your kid teach you their favorite activity.

Maybe they can sink a basket or love to roller skate – ask them to teach you some moves and let them relish in your mess-ups.

It’ll keep them engaged and let you laugh together.

There are endless ways to exercise as a family, but the key to it all is being consistent with the practice, choosing age-appropriate activities, and making it fun.

If moving together is something you make a normal part of their lives at an early age, they’re much more likely to continue exploring new modes of movement for years of fun.

We hope you learned a few tips on How Families Can Prioritize Fitness At Home.

 

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