Help Children to Love Exercise

Would you ever let your child go several days without brushing their teeth? You probably wouldn’t, considering the fears of high dentistry bills and your son or daughter being left with a mouth riddled with cavities! Not many parents consider the effects however, of letting their children veg out on the couch in front of the TV for several days at a time. It is often true that idle children grow into lazy adults and many can experience health problems as a result of inactivity (most prominently; obesity related issues).

It is therefore important to instil a love of exercise in children as early on in their lives as possible.

There are some parents who think that physical education (or; PE) classes given at school are enough to see their children keep their bodies fit and healthy but such classes might only occur once or twice a week – this does not even come close to the daily 60 minutes of exercise that is recommended for children! It is all too easy for kids to do nothing physical at the end of each school day, especially when you consider that many parents will also feel too tired to exercise after spending the day in an office or attending to household chores.

Exercise can also be seen as a boring activity by some children and so it is important to make such as fun as possible. This is best achieved by integrating play. An hour in a brightly colored and well equipped playground with siblings and/or friends is a far more appealing thought than running 30 laps of a field! Getting “too serious” about exercise can also see some children become reluctant to undertake such in the future.

There might well be a public children’s playground located close to your home but understandably, you might not have the time to head to the park with your kid/s to keep a keen eye on them as they play. Allowing young children to roam the streets to reach playgrounds without adult supervision is never a wise idea but keeping them cooped up when you are feeling drained is not ideal either. This is where having climbing frames and similar equipment installed in your garden could prove to be very useful.

Solidly built wooden structures comprising swings, slides, climbing walls, monkey bars and/or rope ladders are available to buy online and whilst these can be quite expensive, such set ups can see the health of your offspring rocket, not to mention add monetary value to your property and/or its grounds. In addition, you will be able to keep watch over your kid/s from your decking, conservatory or kitchen and you will be on hand to deal with any trips or knee scrapes that might occur during play.

If you are unable to make a large financial investment for wooden climbing frames in your own garden, worry not for there are many cheaper alternatives available on the market – a less-durable but low cost swing set and/or plastic slide can be enough to see your child spend less time watching Ben 10 or Tracy Beaker and more time putting their heart through its paces!