What do you do for your kids?

tobielauren
tobielauren Posts: 184 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey all...I am in the process of finishing my Masters Thesis on parental influences on exercise of children...what do you all do for your kids?

ie. My parents were both runners and the majority of our family outings had some sort of activity (biking, running, walking, swimming, etc.) involved and they signed my brother and I up for a myriad of sports (tee-ball, soccer, swimming, dance, gymnastics, etc).

Do you do the same? Or try to? Just want to see :)

Replies

  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
    We walk most places that are within a mile of the house - kids wanted mcdonalds for a treat so we walked the 3/4 to the store. At weekend we tend to go for longer walks and the kids favourite is going rock climbing. We also go swimming once a week.
  • tobielauren
    tobielauren Posts: 184 Member
    awesome! thanks :)
  • Rylie324
    Rylie324 Posts: 58 Member
    We do little things.

    Walk to local places like the poster said above. Go swimming, do things like I'll race you to the car. I do different work outs at home and the kids see me making the effort, sometimes they will even join in. I also think it's important to speak positively about exercising ie. Wow that work out was tough today but I feel so much better. Even when in my head I'm thinking thank goodness that's over lol.

    My husband is in the military so the kids also get to see how important it is to be in shape both physically and mentally. Some people may not like this but if my kiddos talk back, get in trouble ect we do push ups for "punishment".
  • grubb1019
    grubb1019 Posts: 371 Member
    My son plays baseball and basketball. My daughter plays volleyball. We like to play badmitton and volley ball at home. Our favorite thing is to go hiking, we try to go once a week in the summer. They also ride their bikes a lot.
  • inverseofmissy
    inverseofmissy Posts: 114 Member
    We have them in t-ball for both spring and fall seasons, so that's 3-4 days a week of 1-2 hour practices/games. My fiancee takes them to the park and they play tag and walk the nature trails a couple times a month, we go spend the day at my mom's and swim for hours probably every other weekend, we just went on our first camping trip and we're planning to go again later this year, etc. Plus my oldest is in school and he gets recess every day and PE once a week there. I think we do a fair job of keeping them active- we have to put forth the effort too because our neighborhood is not somewhere I will let them go off with other kids and play without me or my fiancee.
  • OccupyFitness
    OccupyFitness Posts: 145 Member
    All my kids participate in a sport outside of school. We also like to go for family walks and bike rides. We have a large yard with a trampoline and a basketball hoop, so they spend a lot of their time with friends outside. We live near a state park and we have access to a college campus so we have access to quite a bit of outdoor and sport facilities. I'd say we all like to get exercise but other then the sport teams, it's not formalized, just a part of what we do in our lives.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    My son plays Tee Ball & Soccer. He runs with me sometimes and has even done a mile race! He's tried doing some kickboxing with me, lasted about 10 minutes. He really wants to lift weights so I let him use the 3 lb. dumbbells and have taught him to bench with them, curl, deadlift, etc. He just turned 6. We often catch him doing wacky moves and saying "Is this exercise?"

    As far as food goes. He eats pretty healthy as well, even likes broccoli! He understands that sugar cereals are only an occasional treat, etc.

    Edited to add that we play tennis together too! Fun times! And soccer drills!
  • Jezebel9
    Jezebel9 Posts: 396 Member
    I grew up working hard on the family farm... so social events were always centered around the kitchen table, food and non-active activities.
    For my son, I involve him in all the athletic things he shows any interest in and praise him for his efforts- he is 5 and is now learning how to do flips and cartwheels.
    He is very healthy- not an ounce of fat on him, but we teach by example- good eating habits.

    8)
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    My 11 year old daughter wanted to try a "kicking class" when she was about 4-5...so we started judo (more wrestling style martial arts) My husband started with her. Now all 6 of us do judo. I am a runner. The kids love to run races with me or do kids races. My 11 and 9 year old daughters run 5K races whenever they can. I never sign anyone up for a race or judo tournament until that day so it is the kids choice and not my idea etc...they assume they should do yoga, jog etc. We don't own a video game so they also just play outside.
  • spigenerb
    spigenerb Posts: 29
    I run with my kids. Help train them for track and build customized plans for them for each of their sports. I don't ever force them to do the training plans though. And when running I use the smile factor. When they are no longer having fun we are finished. But I HATE running so my 13 year old daughter usually runs me into the ground now. I just don't tell them how much I dislike running, it would ruin it for them. My 12 year old son wants to start lifting with me so I made a special plan for him. And before anyone says lifting is bad for kids the latest science proves otherwise. It actually helps CNS coordination of muscle groups. I studied a lot about it before I agreed to let him.

    They are also in swimming, baseball, soccer, and cheer.
  • dmwells3
    dmwells3 Posts: 42 Member
    We have horses. My kid is in charge of cleaning her horses poop, feeding, grooming, riding and stacking hay when it comes in.
  • spigenerb
    spigenerb Posts: 29
    they assume they should do yoga, jog etc. We don't own a video game so they also just play outside.

    I love this. We even got rid of cable too. Best thing we ever did! It was my wifes idea- she is pretty smart that way.
  • tinkermommc
    tinkermommc Posts: 558 Member
    They both do swim frequently. My daughter does dance and gymnastics and my son is autistic so he jumps and spins all daylong! As a family we dance, walk, hike, bike and swim. Occasionally my daughter will go to a pilates class with me and the grandmas there love seeing a 5 yr old trying to do the moves :-)
  • Chubbyhulagirl
    Chubbyhulagirl Posts: 374 Member
    Beach and pool are the big ones for us. Ive got three water babies. Jiu jitsu and kickboxing for our son (8) and gymnastics for our daughter (2). Youngest is 11 months and still just crawling. No cable so lots of indoor and outdoor play for us.

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