There is a growing recognition around the world that an increasing number of today’s children are at risk of becoming overweight. Physiotherapists and dieticians know that many of these children are likely to remain overweight as adults unless they exercise and eat well.
As parents we all want our children to be happy and healthy. We aim to make our children’s lives as easy and enjoyable as possible, and ours too. This sometimes means we take short cuts. Life has been made easier by cars, computers and convenience foods. All of these can result in our children doing less exercise and eating food that is less ‘healthy’.
Getting our children to be active instills good habits for the future. Encourage your child to do at least sixty minutes of moderate intensity activity every day. Their heart rate should increase but they should still be able to carry out a conversation. These sixty minutes can be broken down into fifteen minute slots initially. Teaching children to enjoy regular physical activity means they are more likely to stick to these good habits when they grow up.
We are generally very fortunate in Botswana that our children have the opportunity to be physically active at school, but teaching them to be active at home instills good habits for the future.
Some ideas to encourage your child to be active at home:
01: Get a map of your local area and plan a weekly walk.
02: Teach your child to ride a bike so that you can cycle together.
03: Enter a fun event, like a short run, swim or cycle together.
04: If your child likes televised sport find a local club where they can try it for real.
05: Walk to the shops, or park further away form the shops and walk to them. This has the added advantage that you can start to teach them road safety too.
06: Go for a swim.
07: Dance with them, turn the music up and dance around the house!
08: Teach them some games you played in the school yard as a child.
It is also a good idea to encourage your child to have good posture as this reduces the risk of injury and encourages the use of the correct muscles in any given activity. Generally a child will have good posture, but bad habits can set in. Give your child a school bag that goes over both shoulders and is carried on their back, this will mean even carrying of a load and allow them to keep good posture. Talk to them about sitting correctly. At school the teacher will encourage this, but watch how they do their homework or eat dinner. Make sure they sit close to the table, sitting at the back of their chair and up tall.
Teaching your child good habits now gives them the best chance of good habits later on in life!