3 Small, Yet Effective Tips to Help Your Children Fall In Love With Exercise

They’ll begin jumping for joy!

One of the hardest things EVER as a parent, is getting your child to take a break from the toys, and play outside.

Especially when there’s all these incredible toys, electronics, and doodads to play with instead of seeing the bright, blissful sky.

Maybe we need a break, or we want our children to make friends, or maybe we just want to help them grow up to be healthy, well-rounded people.

And you’ve tried everything…

From Montessori, to tag. Nothing works! Right?

Well, Stretch-N-Grow of San Antonio has been helping children engage in interactive, fun, and exciting exercise for well over a decade… and we’re going to knock your socks off with these…

3 Small, Yet Effective Tips to Help Your Children Fall In Love With Exercise

1. Make It a Game 🎮

Kids love to play… so be creative.

Get rid of the repetitive workouts like “catch” or “jumprope” and add games that have stakes and changes throughout. The games you play with your child need to be exciting and have stakes. 

Here’s how you could do this:

• Add a point system: Kids love winning. Play “hopscotch” and every time they get to the other side, they get a point.

  
  

• Add a timer: You could tell your little one, that every time they begin, they have to “get to the other side” or win in 30 seconds.

  
  

• Add rewards: A good way to amp up the games a little bit and have your kids leaping for joy, is to add rewards. This could be something as simple as an extra 30 minutes on the video games or an extra treat after dinner.

  
  

Add stakes to make exercise FUN!

2. Be Their Role Model 👩‍🔬

Children mirror what they see. 

If they see you exercising (in an engaging and super fun way) they’ll want to exercise today.

A way you could start to incorporate this is by:

• Make it a family activity: Catch a ball together, have a weekend “play time” where you pick a game and play it (an exercise game of course), or even take family walks.

  
  

• Show enthusiasm: Kids are curious. If you’re excited about a game, they’ll get excited too! Make your activity a “journey” of sorts. Make it seem like the most fun thing they could ever be doing.

  
  

• Celebrate small wins: Encourage your stars for their efforts, whether they learn a new skill, run a little faster, or simply have fun moving, tell them how great they’re doing. If they feel like they’re doing good, they’ll continue. :)

  
  

3. Let Them Choose 👍

Kids are more likely to enjoy exercise if they have a say in what they do. 

Because, as we all know, if you tell them to do something, they’ll go and do the opposite. 😂

Instead of pushing a single activity, give them options, and let them choose one.

Here are some examples:

• Expose them to different activities: Try sports, martial arts, dance, swimming, or even just playing at the park.

  
  

• Follow their interests: If they love animals, go on a nature walk. If they love superheroes, create a “superhero training camp” workout type of thing. Like an imaginative workout.

  
  

• Keep it pressure-free: The goal is movement, not mastery. Let them explore the activities and find what they love. They need to have fun to fall in love with exercise.

  
  

When kids feel in control, they’re more engaged, they’re more excited, and they’re more willing to give exercise a try and have some fun. When you let your little ones choose, exercise becomes something they want to do and not something they’re forced to do. So give them a choice.