Make Time for Family Play

Feel like you can't get your kids off the TV or computer screen? Recent evidence from the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine study shows that TV watching, video games, computers and similar sedentary activities are the largest factor in the increase of weight problems among children.

Sedentary Lifestyles

Did you know that less than 30% of U.S. high school students attend daily physical education classes? And the average U.S. child under the age of 17 spends an average of 5 hours a day outside school in sedentary activities - either watching television, using the computer, playing video games, talking on the phone or listening to music.

The public health problem of increasing prevalence rates of obesity and what should be done about it. Steven N. Blair, Milton Z. Nichman. Mayo Clinic Proceeding, 2002, 77(2):109-113

Here are some age appropriate activities that will help get your kids off the couch:

Toddlers
  • Give them balls to bounce, kick and throw.
  • Put up a swing set or a small play gym.




School-age children
  • Make sure they have safe and easy access to bikes, basketballs, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk - toys that encourage them to get out and meet the other kids in the neighborhood.
  • Organize regular play dates and take them to a park or somewhere safe to run around.



Teens
  • Go search for sports equipment and let your teen teach you something about the sport he or she plays.
  • Take off from work if you can the next time they have a day off from school and head for the beach or get out your roller blades, skate board, or mountain bikes and join in on the fun.




Other ways to get your kids active:

(excerpted from MyPyramid for Kids)

  • Set a good example. Be active and get your family to join you. Have fun together. Play with the kids or pets.
  • Take the President's Challenge as a family. Track your individual physical activities together at www.presidentschallenge.org.
  • Establish a routine. Set aside time each day as activity time - play catch, ride bikes, swim or dance. Adults need at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week; children 60 minutes every day or most days.
  • Have an activity party. Make the next birthday party centered on physical activity. Try backyard relay races, or have a bowling or skating party.
  • Set up a home gym. You can use common household items, such as cans, for weights. And real stairs can substitute for stair machines.
  • Move around. Instead of sitting through TV commercials, get up and move. Remember to limit TV watching and computer time.
  • Give activity gifts. Give gifts that encourage physical activity - such as sporting equipment, video dance games or outdoor hobbies.