As your children become more attached to their smart phones, it’s never been more important to encourage an active lifestyle. Aside from the health benefits, they’ll enjoy the challenge of learning a new skill. For overall wellbeing, we’ve chosen 5 of the best activities.
Cycling
This form of low impact exercise is fun for the whole family and perfect for adventurous days out. It’s also a cardiovascular workout that improves muscular strength and develops major motor skills through the action of balancing and steering. Always practice safety and ensure your child wears a helmet and hi-visibility clothing if cycling in the evenings. It can also be beneficial to enroll them in a local cycling group. This offers a safe way for your children to meet new friends and explore as part of a group.
Watersports
For those that live by a lake or the sea, a watersports based activity offers a one-of-a-kind experience. Once they can swim for a distance of 50 meters, they’ll be more than ready to try bodyboarding, surfing or kayaking. This form of isometric exercise can improve strength in the major muscles and is also a full body cardio workout. One session of swimming alone is said to burn up to 450 calories.
Football
Heaps of fun and providing hours of entertainment, football is one of the best sports for overall development. Invest in some good football training aids and your kids can practice in the garden. Training cones, slalom poles and goal posts can improve speed and agility. Football can also encourage them to become more social as friends can join for a match. Organised sports parties can also be a great alternative for kids’ birthday parties, both at home and abroad.
Tennis
Improving both the fine and major motor skills, tennis develops hand-eye coordination whilst developing strength and flexibility. It’s also great for psychological development. As they learn to overcome adversity on the court, they’ll become better able at dealing with stressful situations in everyday life. Working as part of a team in doubles matches, they’ll also become more adept at communication and develop an ethic of sportsmanship which could last a life time.
Geocaching
Combining technology with hiking, Geocaching is great for children who can’t bear to be away from their tech gadgets. With the use a of a handheld GPS device, they’ll search for clues across rugged terrain and forests. This modern-day treasure hunt is available throughout the country with many clubs offering the activity for a low-cost charge. It’s a great form of exercise and requires mental agility to study the landscape, find the hidden spots and finish the adventure.
Introduce one of these activities to your children to combat the many health related issues associated with a sedentary lifestyle. They’ll enjoy learning a new hobby and spending some much-needed time outdoors.
Images by European Cyclists’ Federation and pocketwiley used under Creative Commons License.
Nancy Greg is an early learning blogger from Maryland.
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