Exercise and Fitness
Sports for the Whole Family
Guest Blogger: Sarah Hickens
Spending time with your family is extremely important for everyone, but with the daily tasks – like those at work and school – it can often be difficult trying to find enough time in the day to spend quality time together. This often means that families only spend time together on evenings and weekends, limiting the activities you can do together. Although the most popular options are normally watching a film together or going on a day trip somewhere, it could be more beneficial for you to stay at home and do something together instead. Doing this can save money and time, and help to build relationships between you and your family. One of the best activities to do is sports, as there’s a limitless number of things you can do here!
What sports can we play?
There’s no end to what you can play with your family; it all depends upon the number of people and the amount of room that you have to play in. The best thing to do is when your whole family is together, ask them if there are any sports in particular that they’d like to do. Some great team sports to play are:
- Football (Soccer) – This is a great go-to sport as everyone knows how to play and all you need to play is a ball!
- Frisbee – It’s surprising how much exercise you can get from a game of Frisbee!
- Tennis – Teaming up and playing doubles makes this a fun game for everyone to be involved in!
- Rounders – Rounders is a great game to take to the park, and it’s even better if you go with one or two other families as well!
There are plenty of other choices available too, most of which can be played right in your backyard or garden! A quick game of tag is a brilliant way to get your heartbeat racing without needing to go anywhere. Investing in a trampoline, such as one from best trampolines of Australia, is also a fantastic way to encourage your children to do exercise, and you can always have a go too!
How else can the family get exercise?
Many gyms nowadays offer family packages; so both you and your children can go along to the gym and get some exercise! Most of them put on activities just for children, such as using climbing frames, whilst you can either use the gym equipment or attend fitness classes. Going swimming is also a great way to bond with your children whilst getting exercise, as teaching them to swim can be an extremely rewarding activity. This means that you get to spend quality time with your kids, whilst they learn a new skill!
Planning family trips out to the countryside is also a great opportunity for a walk or climb up a hill, the latter being a great way to boost your child’s self-esteem and help them experience things that they wouldn’t normally! Trips out to places such as climbing centers, or water parks are also a fantastic way to treat your kids to a day out whilst making sure they get plenty of exercise. Getting together with family friends or inviting some of your children’s friends along to go with them will also help your child to have a fun day whilst getting some exercise.
Keeping everyone healthy!
Although exercise is extremely important, making sure you have a healthy diet alongside it is also vital. Making sure your family gets 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day can prove to be a challenge, particularly with young children! Meal planning can make this task an awful lot easier, and discussing your children’s favorite meals with them before you decide what to cook is also a great help. Always having fruit available as a snack, such as a bowl of apples or oranges, is a simple way to help kids get more fruit without actively having to put them into their diet. A healthy diet doesn’t mean that you have to stop your children from drinking fizzy drinks or eating sweets; however it does mean that they should be limited when they can and instead replaced with water or fruit juice, and snacking on fruit instead of crisps and chocolate.
About the Author
Sarah Hickens writes on behalf of Trampoline Warehouse. Trampoline Warehouse offers trampolines Perth for all ages. Sarah is an active parent with a young son who she keeps entertained through a variety of activities and also a seasoned blogger who likes to share her ideas and experiences.
