One of the joys of being a parent is seeing your children happy. Seeing your child enjoy playing with other kids is priceless. Happiness starts by being healthy and fit. Sadly, due to modern entertainment like video games and the internet, many children are no longer able to enjoy their childhood the way they should.

As a parent, you want your children to develop fitness habits that will ensure that they grow healthy and active and there are many things you can do to help them build fitness habits. Here are some of them:

Make it fun

When you think of exercise, your mind may automatically envision treadmills, weights, sweaty people grunting while trying to do push ups to lose the bulge.  In reality though, exercise does not have to be that serious. Unlike adults, children have very simple motivation to exercise and that is to have fun. Turn exercise into play and you can surely get their interest. 

Make it a family activity

For children, family bonding is always fun. Family activities are a source of happy memories that they will treasure for a lifetime. If you bond with your children through fun physical activities like playing or dancing, they would not be able to say no to you. You can set aside a day each week for a family hiking, dancing or a mini sports festival of parlor games.

Understand their interests

By planning your activities  based on their interests, you can get your children to exercise and develop their fitness habits.  If your child for example likes dancing, you can schedule  a time where you can dance with them. You can also enroll them in dancing classes.  If they like martial arts movies, you can enroll them in martial arts school.

Choose their toys wisely

As much as possible, buy only toys that encourage physical activies like balls, badminton sets, etc. Most of these toys also encourage them to interact with other kids. What’s great about fitness activities for kids is they can also easily turn into a social activity that will help develop their communication skills and confidence.

Helping your children develop fitness habits does not take a lot of time and effort, but it has a massive impact on their physical, mental and emotional growth. These also provide opportunities to improve your relationship with your child . A happy attitude starts with a healthy and active childhood. The essential fitness habits you will help your child build now will contribute to a lifetime of wellness.