How to Get Kids Moving & Exercising

Vibrant Life, May, 2000 by Victor M. Parachin

Six tips for pulling young couch potatoes away from their video games

While fitness expert Kathy Smith was still a teenager, both of her parents passed away within two years of each other. First, her father died of a heart attack, and then her mother was killed in a plane crash. "Their deaths utterly devasted me," she recalls. "Suffering this excruciating double loss, I wasn't prepared to live without their love and guidance, as my self-destructive behavior over the following few years confirmed."

What transformed her life during that time of all-encompassing grief was Smith's decision to train for and run a full marathon. "Those 26 miles saved my life," she says. "I would run and run and run, using my grief as a running partner. Through the tears, often mixed with my sweat, I gradually became aware of how beneficial the running had become to my grieving process. Even if I felt out of control mentally or emotionally, I at least controlled my physical body, and that seemed empowering." Today Smith links her emotional healing to her time of training and completing the marathon.

Smith's experience confirms what experts say; namely, that exercise is good not only for adults, but also for children. Physical activity strengthens the body, sharpens the mind, heals emotions, restores sagging self-esteem, and generally makes people feel good about themselves.

Sadly, however, today's children are among the most underexercised and overweight youths in the nation's history. One in five American youths, ages 12 to 17, is overweight, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Increasingly researchers are growing alarmed because childhood obesity has escalated alarmingly in the past decade. In a 1976-1980 NHANES study, the rate of overweight youths was only 15 percent. Today that figure is at 21 percent.

Furthermore, two thirds of our children can't pass a basic physical fitness test. Forty percent of boys and 70 percent of girls ages 6 to 17 can't do more than one pull-up. Half the girls and 30 percent of the boys can't run a mile in under 10 minutes. In addition, 40 percent show early signs of heart and circulation problems, according to a recent report by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Too many kids watch too much television, play too many video games, and eat too much high-fat junk food.

However, there is good news. With a little planning and gentle encouragement, parents and other significant adults can get kids active again. Clearly, parents, need to remind themselves that Paul's statement in the Bible about caring for the body applies to their children as well: "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.... Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, NIV).(*) Here are some effective ways to dislodge couch potatoes and get children to exercise once again.

* Be a role model.

According to a French proverb, "Children have more need of models than of critics." Rather than criticize and berate inactive children, show them the way. Begin with yourself. Join a gym and use it. Jog, walk, bike, swim, lift weights. Children imitate important adults around them. "The best way to encourage kids to get regular exercise is to do so yourself," says Kaitlin O'Shea, an exercise physiologist and fitness-projects director for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in Reston, Virginia. "Children need to have people in their lives show them what it means to be a `happy mover.'"

* Combine celebration with exercise.

The next time your child's birthday rolls around, have the party at an ice-skating rink, roller rink, soccer field, or swimming pool. The children will benefit three ways: they will celebrate together; they will socialize; and they will get several hours of good exercise. The food and treats afterwards will taste even better because of their workout.

* Walk to school.

Recently I saw my friend Nancy walking with Brad, her fourth grader, and their golden Labrador retriever to Brad's school. "I dislike jogging but find it easy to walk with Brad to school several times a week," she says. "We walk together to school in the morning, and then I walk home. At the end of his school day I again walk to the school and meet Brad, and we walk home together. Not only do I get in nearly five miles of walking each day, but we do some serious talking together. It's been a good combination of exercise for me, as well as bonding with my son."

* Don't call it exercise.

Introduce physical activity naturally into your family lifestyle. For example, if your children want to go to a restaurant for lunch, walk or bike rather than drive to the restaurant. Or when your children claim they are bored and have nothing to do, suggest a nature walk through a park or forest area. Make that hike even more fun by suggesting they find certain trees, animals, and birds.

* Take an assessment of local resources.

Every community has groups that are organized to provide athletic services for families and their children. Check with your local YWCA/ YMCA, school board, local government human services and assess what activities are available for your children. That way you can offer a child various options--swim team, water polo, volleyball, roller hockey, lacrosse, and others, in addition to the more well-known sports such as baseball and soccer. Don't be afraid to let a child switch activities from season to season. Sometimes it takes a child a while to find an activity that's just right for them. Remember that when a child appears to be jumping from sport to sport that it is a process of elimination, helping the child clarify what he or she truly enjoys doing.