How to Foster a Love for Physical Activity - May 2025

The physical development of your child is as important as their mental and emotional development. One of the things you can do as a parent is to help optimize their physical development. There are several ways to achieve this. Firstly, you have to make sure that they eat a balanced and nutritional diet. Additionally, you can also foster a love of physical activity. Here are some ways you can encourage your children to be more active and incorporate physical activity in their lives. Set a Good Example One of the first things you can do to encourage more physical activity in your children is to be active yourself. Show them that you take some time out on a regular basis to exercise. You can slowly get them involved or at least interested in your workouts. Start with something easy like taking a jog or walk near your home. If they’re receptive you can start introducing more advanced workouts and sports. Sign Them up for Lessons If your child shows any interest in a hobby that involves movement, you can always encourage them to go for classes. These may include self defense classes like Karate, Judo, Silat and the like. Another example would be dance classes, like ballet or hip-hop. In addition to enhanced physical activity, these lessons also impart discipline, self-control and other important values. Encourage Free Play Outdoors Rather than putting a phone or tablet to distract your young children, let them run around, especially outdoors. You may have to keep an eye on them. However, this is preferable than just sitting indoors all the time. You may want to increase their physical activity by child-proofing the outside of your house if you have landed property. For example, you should make sure all water sources are turned off and water catchments are covered. Additionally, make sure there are no places where they can slip and fall easily. Use Physical Activity to Reach Destinations If you have to go somewhere nearby, like the neighbourhood grocery store or a friend's house in the same Taman, choose to go there by cycling, roller skating or on a scooter. Rather than hopping onto a car, these vehicles will allow your child to get a workout. You may want to follow them on foot or on your own bicycle. Similarly, if you're visiting a mall, suggest using the stairs if possible rather than the elevators or escalators. Turn this into fun challenges, like who gets to the top the fastest. Incorporate Physical Activity into Vacations One of the key aspects about encouraging physical activity is to make it fun. That's why you should try and associate physical movements and exercise with happy memories. This way, they will always view exercise positively, even when they're adults. For example, you can bring a beach ball along to the beach and play with your kids. Alternatively, just having a short running race on the beach is good enough and makes for hours of fun. Get Them Involved with Household Chores No matter what age your children are, they will benefit from learning how to do simple household chores. These tasks don't just encourage physical activity. In short, they also build discipline and mental fortitude. Start them on easy things like putting away their own toys and feeding pets. Older children can help with things like sweeping, doing the dishes, laying the table and more. Household chores will also help your children develop vital skills that they need for physical development. This includes both their fine and gross motor skills, as well as their mental development. Reinforce Their Love of Physical Activity Learn to reward your children when they show an interest in any form of physical activity. Maybe you can make their favourite dish for dinner, or allow them one extra hour of screen time. Rather than forcing them to go out and exercise with threats of punishment, this form of positive reinforcement has been shown to be more effective in the long term. The best way to foster a love of physical activity for physical development is always to associate it with fun and happiness. How Much Physical Activity Should Your Child Get? The amount of physical activity your child should get depends on their age. Here's how much physical activity a child should be encouraged to do. Remember not to push them beyond their limit. Toddlers and younger children usually need to be active for longer periods that their older counterparts. Here are the recommendations by experts: Toddlers 1 to 3 years old: At least 3 hours of vigorous play per day. For example, they should be encourages to jump on trampolines, run and chase things, cycle on bicycles and the like. Children 3 to 5 years old: 3 hours of having light to moderately activity, with at least one hour of vigorous activity. Examples of light activities include doing homework, playing with toys, painting, drawing and the like. Moderate intensity activities include brisk-walking, kicking a football around, jump-rope skipping, throwing and catching balls, kite flying and swimming. Children aged 5 to 18: At least one hour of moderate to high intensity exercise. This should be done at least three times a week as it keeps the metabolism high and prevents various illnesses. Adults above 18 years of age need at least 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity and 1.5 hours of vigorous physical activity per week. These should be spread out over at least 2 to 3 days per week. Physical Activity's Effects on Physical Development In summary, your child's physical development will benefit greatly from physical activity. It is able to strengthen their bones, heart and lungs, as well as build the use of various muscles. Being physically active is also good for their immune system, nervous system, physical coordination and more. Additionally, they'll be able to maintain a healthy weight. This helps avoid chronic illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety and depression throughout their growing up years and beyond. Therefore, starting them young on the path to physical fitness will set them up for better health throughout their lives. For more insightful stories and fun recipes, stay tuned to Motherhood Story!

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