10 Ways to Raise Active Kids | Fun Tips for Encouraging Physical Activity

I understand the importance of raising active kids.  I have talked about the benefits of team sports for kids previously.  Having sporty kids is a real blessing and I am always encouraging them to be active.

10 Ways to raise active kids

1. Walk,  cycle or scoot to and from school with the kids as often as possible.
2. Fly a kite or make a windsock and run with it if there is no wind.  The Kite Society of Great Britain has great advice on joining a club and kite making workshops.
3. Build a den or treehouse with them in the school holidays. Or, under supervision, encourage them to climb a tree or two.
4. Support your kids in sports, clubs or any other activities that may interest them.  Maxi does Junior Football (soccer) and Mini Judo.
5. Try going on an activity holiday like Center Parcs or Kielder Forest.
6. Visit your local woodland or discover your local forest.  We enjoy family walks, and the boys love climbing trees.
7. Take the dog for a walk. If you don’t have one of your own, ask to borrow a neighbour’s dog and take it for a walk.
8. Encourage them to go roller skating, rollerblading,  skateboarding or scootering outdoors in the summer or the local indoor skatepark. Just make sure that they get a durable skate deck and they should be good.  Or in winter, go ice skating.
9. Try visiting local parks at the weekend together.  We love visiting new to us parks.
10. Encourage your kids to join in with sports activities at school including afterschool clubs and to try out for the teams.  Try and go and see them play which really encourages them to keep up the activities.

The benefits of active kids include:

• Helps improve balance and develop skills. Mini goes to Judo weekly, which teaches him great balance and patience in addition to gaining fitness.
• Improves cardiovascular fitness.  The heart is a muscle and its performance improves when you regularly exercise. The heart responds to exercise by becoming stronger and more efficient.
• Builds strong bones and muscles.  Just as the heart gets stronger through use, so do kids’ bones.  Exercise increases bone density.
• Helps achieve and maintain a healthy weight.  Exercise helps burn calories and encourages a healthy weight.
• Helps kids relax and helps them sleep better.
• Provides opportunities to make friends.  Maxi’s plays sports with children that he doesn’t go to school with, increasing his social circle.