7 tips for raising active, healthy kids

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Recently, I was perusing the book Active Start for Healthy Kids: Activities, Exercises and Nutritional Tips by Stephen J. Virgilo, which is designed to help parents develop active and positive lifestyle habits in their children that will last a lifetime. It shares a wealth of ideas, fun family activities (including dance and yoga) and nutritional guidelines that parents and teachers can use to inspire kids to make healthy lifestyle choices.

Here I wanted to share the book's seven keys to raising and developing active kids. Even if your children are a little older, they can still benefit from revisiting these active-living fundamentals.

1. Give your child options
Children should be exposed to different options for being active through toys, facilities and games. They are more apt to actively participate when variety is offered to them. Get outside and play with your children. Plan trips to the park, beach and recreation centre. Assist on parent councils to reinforce policies around physical activity at school.

2. Be active daily
In order for children to embrace a long-term habit of physical activity, they must be active regularly. Children should be physically active every day. In his book, Virgilo states that parents should “Plan at least 60 minutes of structured physical activity, and 60 minutes of unstructured physical activity every day. Preschool teachers and parents should agree on a simple model, for example, 90 minutes at school and 30 minutes at home during the week." (Try our fun ideas for staying active.)

3. Develop new motor skills
Exercising a variety of movement skills is crucial in the early stages of life. Prior to age 12, the neuromuscular system is still developing and movement skills can be enhanced dramatically by doing a variety of purposeful movement. This will enhance a child's athleticism for life and encourage adherence to fitness fun for years to come.

Let children explore and acquire age-appropriate development skills such as skipping, hopping, jumping, catching and throwing. Try using an array of equipment such as beanbags, hoops, balls, parachutes, scarves and BOSU (see www.123BLASTOFF.com for more details). Be supportive and encourage your children for how well they are developing their athletic skills (for example, kicking a ball), rather than emphasizing their success at an activity or game (for example, scoring a goal or winning a game).

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