by Maia Appleby
Lots of parents visit Shape Up Shop looking for fitness equipment for their kids. Some are concerned about their children's weight and some want to help them train for specific sports, while others just want their kids to be healthier. I'm writing this to serve as a guideline for all of these parents.
It's my opinion that kids are naturally active. Our culture has distracted them and discouraged many of them from having normal, active childhoods. They grow up too quickly, stay inside FAR too much and are not generally as fit as they should be. The easiest and healthiest way to get your kids into shape is to encourage them to be kids.
This can be difficult today, in a world where we can no longer allow an 8-year-old to run around the neighborhood until dinner time. It's frustrating for us parents to deal with the fears we have, because we want our kids to have to freedom we had. But they don't, and we have to adapt to this new world without keeping our kids in a bubble.
In many communities, sports are no longer what they used to be, possibly because today's coaches are products of a different culture than ours were. In many cases, it's more competitive, less fun and much more stressful. Overcrowding in schools makes it extremely difficult for mediocre kids to even make a team, so the only kids who benefit from athletic programs in these schools are the best athletes. It's hard.
Although the answers to these problems are complicated, there is much that a parent can do to encourage physical, heart-pumping, muscle building activity.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS are too young for formal workout sessions and they WILL NOT enjoy them. The psychological damage that could result from forcing them to exercise in a way that they see as being menial and punishing is not worth it. I don't recommend treadmills, exercise bikes or anything like that for young children. Here are some suggestions for specific areas that can be addressed:
Aerobic training
Be careful here! As I said, it must not be anything like the cardiovascular routines that we adults follow. Here are some fun ways kids can get something of an aerobic workout:
- The Urban Rebounder Pro exercise trampoline - turn on some tunes and let them choreograph their own bouncing routines -- great for older kids
- Jump ropes come in many different styles and can provide an awesome cardio workout for kids and adults. Our other fun "hopping toys" can do the same thing.
- Soccer and basketball both keep them moving -- both excellent sports for overweight kids
- Kickboxing can get an adult into shape quickly. Kids can also benefit from it with a little guidance. Although I wouldn't recommend handing punch mitts to a couple of rowdy boys, speed bags and fitness bags are a lot of fun to play with individually
Balance, coordination and agility
There are a lot of really fun ways a kid can tweak these skills. Dance and gymnastics classes offer a great deal in this area, but here are some other ideas:
Strength training
Children, as we know, are growing. Their bones and muscles are often not keeping up with one another and it's crucial that we let nature allow them to grow properly. For this reason, weight training is not recommended for kids under age 13. Although kids normally can't become bulky the way adults can, here are some safe ways for them to develop and maintain a healthy amount of muscle:
- Hop balls - they may seem babyish, but ours are large enough for school-aged kids to enjoy. Playing a game of Tag on these is actually a fun, hilarious way to strengthen their leg muscles!
- Scooters - no, not what you're thinking! Kids sit on these wooden or plastic scooters and can play scooter hockey and a host of other games. Propelling themselves around with push poles can help strengthen their arms and upper body.
- Believe it or not, tennis is a terrific way for kids to develop good muscle tone (and it offers benefits in both of the other categories above, too.) Don't have access to a tennis court? Kids love to play with the tennis rebound net - and just about any kind of ball can be used with it, so it works for bounce-back games galore!
Yard games are the best way to get them active, and the most effective way to keep them healthy. If you get them something they enjoy doing, they'll spend more time doing it, so that's your best bet. Activities that involve the larger muscle groups offer the best aerobic (fat burning) benefit, especially games that require them to keep their moving and move their arms around a lot. Some good examples of this are:
This is just a small, small list of ideas. I truly believe that if parents would fill their children's toy boxes and play rooms with items like these instead of the "sit around and push buttons" toys that have become so absolutely dominant over the past few decades, we would have a healthier, happier population of youngsters in the United States.
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