Children love to have fun. That is why they love the computer and video games. They’re funny. That is why they like to watch TV shows and movies.
If you mention the word “exercise” to them, all thoughts of fun disappear from their minds. The exercise is push-ups and jumping jacks. The exercise is endlessly jogging around an oval track. In other words, it’s boring.
It does not have to be. It wasn’t when we were kids. Of course, we didn’t have all the cool gadgets kids have now, so we had to find something to do that was fun. Most of our outdoor games were of a very vigorous nature. They still are, they just aren’t played as often.
making it fun: Take the bikes to the park and let the kids ride them along the trails. As long as they are polite to pedestrians, those paths are just as useful and infinitely safer for children than riding a bike on the streets.
Find an organized sports team that the kids are interested in. Our area offers baseball, softball, and water polo. Schools add volleyball, basketball and soccer. This will do more than provide exercise, it will teach team spirit and fair play.
The memories I enjoy the most when it comes to this topic are when the adult members of the family joined the games. My parents sometimes played and my older cousins too. I can still hear my mother yelling “Don’t touch my tomatoes!” when we got into a horseshoe match. (The hole was right next to that part of the garden).
Getting involved helps bring the family closer. It teaches that adults like to have fun and that these kinds of things last a lifetime. It’s worth the time.
