It’s back to school time already!  With our busy schedules before and after school it can be difficult to find time to exercise for anyone in the family unless the kids are in an organized sport like soccer or baseball. 

One scary statistic is that although over 25 million American children are participating in organized sports, we still have a huge group of de-conditioned children who aren’t getting off the bench (or couch for that matter)—we have 50% more overweight children than 20 years ago and 30 to 60% of today’s kids have at least one risk of heart disease by age 10.

Our schools have cut back on physical education to the point where the non- athlete has very little physical movement opportunity throughout the school day.  PE is no longer mandatory in high school past the 9th grade, and most elementary schools don’t have the budget for a fitness professional, which basically leaves PE to unequipped and overburdened homeroom teachers.

Basically we need to face up to the fact that our children’s health and fitness program has to start with family lifestyle choices...and what better time then the ‘back to school’ season to start a new family fitness program.

Here are some helpful hints to get your family moving in the right direction:

• Help your kids learn to enjoy physical movement...This starts with you, be a positive role model!
• Provide them with a wide range of sports and fitness activities. Keep in mind that a wide variety of physical experiences carry over into ones ability to enjoy recreational activities, so try not to limit your child’s choices.
• Volunteer whenever possible to help out with sporting teams and or school fitness programs. It gets you out there and shows your kids that you really care.
• Make it clear to your child that physical activity is good and needs to become an integral part of daily life.
• Find excuses to move more, whether it’s walking with them to school or racing them during simple tasks like taking out the trash or carrying in the groceries.
• Keep a activity chart on the wall and start a friendly family competition based on how many minutes a week you do some type of organized exercise.
• Reward positive physical changes... create your own biggest ‘winner’ contest.
• Avoid getting your child into a highly competitive sport too soon (typically before 8) and make sure they are mature enough to know what they are committing to if they join a specialized team.
• If playing organized sports, praise them for what they do well or try to do well and don’t worry about the score or the competition.

Most importantly, Have Fun!  You may find that you that you enjoy it as much as your kids and have more energy than before!