5 Ways to Help Your Children #BeeActiveBeeHealthyBeeHappy this Summer!
5 Ways to Help Your Children #BeeActiveBeeHealthyBeeHappy this Summer!
The Summer is well and truly upon us! And with it comes some beautiful weather and an even greater chance of our children getting outside to #BeeActiveBeeHealthyBeeHappy!
But for a lot of parents, getting their kids interested in outdoor activity and exercise can be a dreaded task. The advent of video games, tablets, smartphones and other technology has left much of the younger generation glued to a screen as opposed to getting outdoors for some much-needed exercise.
And with the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity Salford 10K coming up in November, we thought it might be a good time to focus more closely on the next generation and how we can help them avoid falling into the obesity bracket.
So if you are looking for ways to keep your little ones active this Summer, here are 5 ways to help your children #BeeActiveBeeHealthyBeeHappy!
Participate
This one might sound a little obvious, but it’s more important than you might think.
While many kids do enjoy going out and getting active with their friends on a regular basis during the summer months – going out for a “kickabout” for example – this isn’t always the case. In fact, many kids who want to go outside and get active can struggle to get their friends interested because of all the reasons we discussed above.
A great way to counteract this is by participating in the exercise yourself. It’s not enough to just tell kids to “go out and play” anymore, when there are so many more interesting things to do indoors (video games, for example). Chances are your kids are way more interested in heading round to their friends’ house for a quick Xbox session.
So when you do think it’s time for your young one to get some exercise, make it something you can all participate in. Play football in the garden or on a pitch with them, or maybe see who can do the fastest laps around the block and make it a competition. Or even a simple, classic game of tig will get their legs moving and their calories well and truly burned off.
Find sports that match their interests
Football has always been the go-to sport in this country. It’s popularity amongst adults and children alike can barely be measured – we’re Footy mad! But that doesn’t mean it’s always the best option for exercise.
The reality is that some kids simply aren’t interested in Football, but they could be interested in a number of other sports. Sports they haven’t even discovered yet!
If you think your child could benefit from trying out some different sports, why not give them all a go? Sports like Tennis, Cricket, Running and countless others are all growing in popularity in young people, and almost all are a fantastic way to help them be more active and remain happy and healthy.
And, at the end of the day, you can always just… ask! Your child might already have a sport in mind they’d like to try. So go ahead!
Indoor exercise
Who said kids needed to get outdoors to get active?
If your children aren’t the biggest fans of outdoor activity, you should probably try to encourage them to get outdoors as much as they can – it’s great for not only their physical health but their mental health too. And a bit of fresh air never hurt anyone!
But, that isn’t to say that you and your kids can’t still get some fantastic exercise indoors. Indoor exercises are easy and only require a small amount of space – sit ups and jumping jacks spring to mind – but if you want to make it a bit more interesting for the kids and keep their attention, it might be worth checking out some of the interactive exercise sessions you can find on sites like YouTube. Or perhaps even investing in an exercise-related video game if you haven’t already (Nintendo often have some great versions of these).
Share your passion
If you’re looking to help your kids #BeeActiveBeeHealthyBeeHappy, chances are you’re a pretty active person yourself. Parents who enjoy and understand the value of exercise and getting active always like to pass on this quality to their children, and if often sets them on a great path in life of healthy living.
So, why not share your passion for your chosen exercise or sport with your children? It’s true what they say – kids take after their parents. By being involved in regular exercise you’re already setting a great example. But if you really want to take advantage of this lifestyle and do the best for your kids, bring them along for the ride!
The next time you head out for a run, or participate in some yoga, or whatever it is you do to keep yourself fit and healthy, get your kids involved. They’ll appreciate the fact you want to include them in something that’s so special to you and, in turn, it could turn into something special for them as well.
Running Bee Foundation Events
At The Running Bee Foundation, everything we do is always to help us reach our ultimate goal: To eliminate childhood obesity in our communities and help people #BeeActiveBeeHealthyBeeHappy. One of the ways we do this is by donating profits from our popular running events to health-conscious causes in the community.
But, we also like to tackle the heart of the problem (literally!) by allowing children to partake in our events too!
Many of our running events come hand in hand with smaller, family-orientated runs that are perfect for your children to get involved in.
Take a look at our events page here to see the events that are due to take place in your area!
And remember…
#BeeActiveBeeHealthyBeeHappy!