A healthy mind in a healthy body! Only if the body is healthy will the mind work efficiently to its full potential. When a kid exercises, the flow of blood in the veins increases. His lungs and the heart work perfectly. Any kind of physical exercise also enhances the flow of oxygen to the brain and rejuvenates the body. A fun-filled physical activity makes the kid feel happy and he thinks better. All this eventually makes the kid feel relaxed.
It is difficult to make kids work-out, though. Therefore, the parents must do a few things before they actually make their kids ready to do the exercise. Here are a few things that you may consider as a warm up exercise and preparing your kid mentally to do the exercise.
∙ Turn off all electronic devices and gadgets used for leisure including Television set,kids’ computer, game console and even your smartphone.
∙ Play an instrumental motivational music that calms the nerves
∙ Spread out your yoga mat and do a little walking back and forth.
∙ Take a balloon or a beach ball and try hitting it upwards one by one. You do it once and make the kid follow suit.
∙ Now the kid is in a playful mood and ready to listen to your instructions.
Light exercises
Now that your kid is all warmed up and raring to go, making him do a few yoga steps which the kid may have learnt through Ignite Fitness/Yoga classes. You may also learn a few, watching videos online and making the kid do, however, to save you the pain of surfing and searching for that right video, we designed the ‘yoga/fitness kids online classes.’ The fitness class will also make the child independent, relieving you to do other important tasks in the house or office work.
In case your kid is too young to do yoga or not interested in the exercise, you may also play his favourite number with beats and make him rock and roll on the beats. You are free to choose any form of dance which you both like. If you have two left feet you may get your child enrolled to Ignite Pad dance classes and empower him to learn on his own. The dance online classes for kids will not just keep the kid fit but also entertain him.
If you have an open space in the house, like a ground you may also make your kid do running or walking. To make things lighter and fun-filled you two can even play ‘catch catch,’ wherein one person will run and the other one will try to catch the running person. This can be done indoors too if there is enough space and safety measures are in place.
You may even make the exercising activity competitive by inviting your kid’s friend over and involving him too. The two can race or do push ups and sit ups. For motivation, you may even give chocolates to the winner. Ensure that you give it to the runner up too, after all they are kids!
A parent can even use the time to complete a house-hold chore together with the kid like folding the laundry or cleaning the wardrobe etc. Arranging the vegetables in the fridge or arranging the grocery may also be selected as a physical exercise for the kid.
Mental exercise must also be done once a day like solving the Rubik’s cube together or learning coding online etc.
Be a role model
According to a study only about 34 % girls and 50 % boys in their teens are actually fit as per the standard norms. Many kids these days are prone to becoming obese as they eat more junk food and remain physically inactive most part of the day. This may result in diseases and disorders. They remain static for hours at a stretch watching TV or playing online games.
We cannot entirely blame the kids for this. The kids follow their parents. They constantly observe us and imitate us in terms of developing habits. Don’t we spend hours at our computers too? It is our duty to be a good role model for our kids. We must include one physical activity or exercising regime in our daily routine. First we must learn to stay away from television sets and computers for hours and not having the urge to constantly check our phones every five minutes. Going out for a walk every single day is the easiest exercise that every parent irrespective of their age can follow. Making simple changes in everyday habits like taking stairs instead of lifts, walking down to the nearby shopping centres, not lazing around or lying on the bed for the entire day, not being a couch potato, eating healthy foods, cutting down on our caffeine intake, listening to good motivational or calming music and meditating, will set the balling rolling.
Ensure that you take your kids for outings once a week at least, though this can be avoided or replaced with watching a movie together (with home-made pop corns) at home during the pandemic.
Taking the right diet on time and staying positive all the time is the key both for the parents and the kids. We are not doctors but a friend who can only point out things that you are not doing right and things that can be done in the right manner so that healthy habits are developed. For real health issues consulting a registered doctor would be the right thing to do.
Stay healthy, Stay happy!
Also read: 6 Inspirational Movies for Kids