How to encourage children to be more active

Before the age of tablets and smartphones, children used to live fairly active lifestyles. They’d go out and play with their friends and spend hours exploring outdoors. These days however, you’re more likely to see children with their heads glued to the TV or mobile phone screen. It’s no coincidence therefore, that there’s been a huge increase in childhood obesity and issues with development.

The question is, how can you encourage your children to be more active? Below, you’ll discover some great ways to reignite their natural passion for being outdoors.

Be a good role model

If you want your children to be more active, you’re going to need to lead by example. If all you do is sit in front of the television or watch videos on your phone and spend time on social media, your children are going to do the same.
Start by setting one day a week for the whole family to do something active. It could be going on a walk, playing outdoor games or even hosting a competition. Children love a competition and if you throw in a reward (ideally one which isn’t food related), it’s sure to spark their interest. It could be whoever can do the most jumps with a skipping rope wins. Or, why not make it super-fun and create a mini assault course?

Make it fun

The number one way to encourage children to be more active is to make it fun. The activity needs to be something more fun than staring at cartoons all day. Think about the things children have always enjoyed over the years. Skateboarding is a great example and something most children enjoy.
Skateboarding is something all the family could get involved in. You can pick up skateboards for the whole family at an affordable cost through companies like Skate Hut Limited. Just remember to invest in safety equipment too! You’ve likely seen the YouTube videos of parents trying and failing to get down with the children on skateboards and hover boards and such.

Get a fitness tracker

I bought Lucas a fitness tracker watch and he absolutely loves it. It tracks his steps and his active minutes for the day. We have added chores on it and once he has completed a chore eg. Brush teeth, a coin goes into the piggy bank on the watch. At 50 coins he can go to shop and choose a treat. It also tracks his sleep and can be used for various other things such as a timer.

Overall, it’s actually easier than you think to encourage your children to be more active. They’re naturally drawn to the outdoors so if you can find a fun activity, especially one you can all take part in, you won’t have a problem convincing them to put down the smartphone and do what children do best x

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