I have turned my kids into exercise aficionados.  I didn’t realize I was doing it at first.  But suddenly, my kids wanted to join me in my activities.  You too can introduce your children to the love of movement.  Here’s how…

Step One: Let your children see you enjoying exercise.

Friday nights are my husband’s and my active date night.  We either take a long bike ride or go for a hike in one of the nature preserves in our area.  After we work up a sweat, we stop for a quick dinner.  It is some of our favorite time of the week and are kids know how much we look forward to it!

When I first had children, I worried that my fitness was selfish.  Shouldn’t I be home, playing with my kids?  I felt like I was stealing every minute of my exercise time.  It wasn’t until my children were a little older that I got to see the benefits of these weekend rituals.

Step Two: When your child is old enough (around age 3), allow them to participate in very small amounts.  You don’t want to overwhelm them.

A few summers ago, I came back from a particularly spectacular run to find my 3 year old son sitting on the front steps, waiting for me, sneakers tied.  “Mommy,” he said.  “I was waiting for you to come back because I wanted to go for a run too!”  I suppressed my giggle at the thought of my little peanut “going for a run” and said, “Well, let’s go right now!”  We slowly jogged once around the block.  “Wow!  That was great!” I told him.  The huge smile on his face told me that he agreed.  He wanted to do a little more but I wouldn’t allow it.  I really wanted his first experience with exercise to be positive.

The next time he wanted to go running, I made it into a game.  We went on a slightly longer (but still short) route.  “Let’s run to the lamp.”  “Now let’s walk to the bench.”  “Race you to the stop sign.”  Instead of focusing on getting all the way around the loop, I broke it up into smaller goals.  Each time he got to the appropriate landmark, he felt proud of himself.  Running is great exercise for kids.  Not only does it burn lots of calories but it builds muscle and strengthens the entire cardiovascular system.

STEP THREE: Don’t say no!

A few months later, Zachary wanted to ride his bike.  I was exhausted and it was chilly outside.  My first instinct was to say no.  But then I thought about how I really did want to cultivate his love of exercise and saying no really wouldn’t further that goal.  “Okay,” I said.  “Let’s go.”  And we went and had a blast.

STEP FOUR: Step it up!

Now that your child enjoys physical activity, it is time to take it up a notch.  As I have said many times before, it isn’t exercise unless your heart is pounding, you are dripping with sweat, and unable to speak in full sentences.

To get Zachary to that level, the next year, I played into his competitive nature.  “I bet I can beat you in a race,” I taunted.  “You ride your bike and I will run.”  He smiled and started sprinting ahead.  Around the track we went until, quite frankly, I couldn’t take it anymore.  A runner really doesn’t stand a chance against a bicycle- even if it is a four year old on the bicycle.  He wins every time.  And he loves that he wins every time.  It is super for his self-confidence.  But I do give him some competition.  He has to really pump his legs to get going.  It’s been two years since we started these races and he still loves them.

And now my 3 year old daughter is getting in on it too!  Last week, we all went to the botanical gardens to get some fresh air.  Zachary brought his bicycle and Danielle brought her tricycle.  While she wasn’t quite ready for a race, she was thrilled that she could “bike like a big girl”.  We went along a 3 mile loop.  Every time we tried to get her to take a break, she refused!  She wanted to keep up with her brother!

STEP FIVE: Keep it up!

Suddenly, fitness has become something our family can do together.  Instead of having to take time away from the kids to work out, exercise has become our favorite time to spend with them!  And they feel so grown up now that they can join in what used to be just a ‘mommy and daddy’ activity.  The key is to constantly be looking for ways to fit the exercise in.  I went to a birthday party this weekend where there was a mini-trampoline and my kids loved it.  Great idea!  I immediately ordered one from Amazon.com.  It cost $100 but is a great way for the kids to move around on a rainy day.

Love of exercise needs to be instilled from the beginning.  If you resent exercise or avoid it altogether, your child will do the same.  However, if you follow these simple tips, your child will learn a love of exercise that will last a lifetime.

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