The general population is exercising less and less every generation, causing a major push to get the youth involved in physical activity harder than it ever has been before. Registration in physical activity programs, especially extra educational are at the lowest levels in history. With the norm now edging toward a total lack of interest in physical fitness, and societal pressures such as television and video games having a stronger impact on the daily activities of our youth, encouraging your youngster to be more active no only falls to the parent, but should be explored at as early time as is possible.
Even an infant still in their crib can benefit from a parents gentle encouragement to be physically active. Using toys and other objects as tools, you can teach an infant to grab, swing their arms, or even crawl towards object. This is not only stimulating muscular activity, but it is also training hand eye coordination and timing function. Stimulating the mind is a very important part to gaining optimal health and keeping it.
Sometimes all of the doo hickeys and gadgets that are mean to promote education or simply pacification can set a baby back in their physical journey through life. Mobiles might be glittery and fun, and vibrating baby seats with warming panels might get more coos than cries, but to simply pacify a child instead of engaging them in useful activities early on in life can develop stubborn patterns of reluctance to activity in toddlers, or even carry on to inactivity later on.
The diets we feed our children can also play an important part in making sure that they not only have the energy, but also the drive to engage in healthy games and activities. A diet high in processed sugars and simple carbohydrates can set children off on roller coaster rides of highs and lows, not allowing for beneficial digestion of utilization of energy. The ambition and energy to participate in fitness is usually not maintained by these processed foods, and instead produce lethargy and the body’s tendency to instead store this fuel as excess fat, contributing to obesity, higher diabetes risk, and other unhealthy complications.
When children start to reach pre puberty and beyond, a solid idea of self body image has already formed, and has great impact on a child’s decision to undertake and complete physical activity. Keep communication channels open with your children and do everything in your power to provide positive reinforcement and encouragement.
