Active Children Make Active Adults

While this may seem obvious, keeping your children physically active is crucial in setting them up for healthy and active futures. However, a lot of times, parents are not allowing their children to be physically active everyday. Not because they do not want to, but because they do not know how important it is, or do not know what things to do to keep their children active. In making your children more active, you are setting them up to be confident, strong, happy, good sleepers, better students and better able to get along with other children. 

Raising active children starts when they are babies, which will make it easier to maintain throughout their childhood and the rest of their lives. Start by engaging them in floor play and encouraging them to be active and move while they are still babies. When they get to be toddlers, try encouraging them to move and be active for about 3 hours per day. This should include things like running, jumping, climbing and dancing. Including physical activity in a toddler does not have to be organized activity, just playful movement throughout they day so that they are having fun, but moving at the same time. 

As your children hits school age and begins sitting more by being in the classroom, it is even more important to get them moving at home. However, physical activity at this age doesn't have to be a sport! Some children do not enjoy playing organized sports, and that is OK. You can do things as simple as a family walk around the neighborhood, going to the playground, playing ball with the dog or playing hide-and-seek at home. 

So, at the end of the day, the most important thing is that your children are being active, in whatever way they enjoy. That doesn't mean your child needs to be on every sports team there is, it just simply means they need to move more than the time they are spending on the computer or watching TV.