When was the last time you played a game of “Tag, You’re It?” Remember
those days as a child when you could play and run around for hours.
Life was good and laughter was contagious. Childhood fun and adventure
doesn’t have to be a thing of the past, and it shouldn’t be. Physical
exercise, activity and laughter have a beneficial impact on our
attention and memory processes throughout our lives and are crucial to
helping us avoid the diseases so often associated with the aging
process.
These factors are also important to our children’s health.
Research shows that children who exercise on a regular basis score
higher on standardized tests, have faster reaction times on behavioral
tasks and have fewer cardiac risk factors than less active children. We
should no longer view exercise as a solitary activity, but one which
engages the entire family. Being physically active doesn’t have to mean
organized sports activities or expensive equipment. It can be as simple
as using our legs, arms, minds and hearts to create and share priceless
moments. Below are some excellent ideas on activities we can involve
all of our family members in.
Run, jog or walk in a family treasure or scavenger hunt. Learn to
juggle as a family. Have a hula hoop contest – count the rotations.
Jump rope to music or rhymes. Jump on a Pogo stick and count bounces.
Organize a family tournament of hopscotch. Play an old fashioned game
of “Tag – You’re it!” Wash the cars and play tag with the water from
the hose. Share dances from each generation in the family. Make up your
own family dance. Take up square dancing, line dancing or clogging.
Play “Twister”. Take up bicycle riding. Keep track of the miles you log
and “ride coast to coast” in the country of your choice. Track the
miles on a map, “visit the sites”, and use it as an opportunity to
learn about the country you are “visiting”.
Go ice skating on a really
hot day. Take tennis lessons as a family – host your own tournament.
Make your own family exercise video – everyone picks a song and creates
a “work-out routine”. Have “fire drills” around the sofa during the
commercial breaks while watching TV. Build a pair of stilts and take
turns learning how to walk on them. Take up martial arts and work your
way up to a black belt as a family. Buy some light dumbbells and set up
a small gym in your basement or garage. Take the family pet for a daily
walk or jog. Let the smaller children ride scooters to keep up.
Take up
indoor rock climbing. Keep track of your altitude gains and see who can
reach the peak of El Capitan first. Investigate local hiking trails and
plan Saturday morning brunch on the trail. Go canoeing, kayaking or
rafting and give everyone a paddle. Play a “hot potato” game of Frisbee
or take up Frisbee golf. Go for long nature hikes and take a sketch
book along to capture the beauty and diversity along the way. Instead
of desert, institute after dinner family walks. Join your local
swimming pool and have relay races.
Besides the physical benefits of
exercise, the emotional benefits of time spent together as a family
playing and laughing together will be innumerable. Making the time to
improve your health and vitality while creating new family rituals and
traditions will not only add years to your life, but most importantly
will add life to your years.