ENGAGING ACTIVITIES TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY HEALTHY

Written by Liza John 

Kindling a healthy lifestyle is indispensable to the development of your child. In addition to having a healthy body, a healthy lifestyle also promotes mental health, builds resilience against stress and boosts immunity. 

Studies show that parents who have sedentary unhealthy lifestyles tend to pass this onto their children and is often cited as a major cause for childhood obesity. So the point is fitness and health should be a family affair. 

How can you keep your family healthy? In this article we have compiled nine engaging activities to keep your family healthy. Let’s get this bread! 

Ball games 

A large air-filled soft ball is all it takes to get some good exercise and a session filled with laughter and fun. We recommend trying the following: 

  • Dodgeball, an all-time favourite among children, can be played indoors or outdoors. You can tweak it depending on the age and numbers to suit your family. 
  • Four Square, as the name suggests, divide the area into quadrants with one player in each square making it perfect for families. It provides a good upper body workout and is a great way to keep restless children with an endless supply of energy engaged. 

Mimic Animals 

Kids love mimicking the movements of various animals like frogs, monkeys or elephants. Leap around the house as a frog or trumpet like an elephant while moving on all fours. Apart from being entertaining these movements will also engage various muscles in your body. 

Interactive Video Games 

You must have heard “Video games are bad for health and promote sedentary lifestyles!”. Well think again, interactive video games have been found to promote physical activity and cognitive functions. Play tennis, cricket or baseball without having to leave your home. Controlled use of these video games can be fruitful in introducing your children to various sport activities that can be difficult to replicate at home.  

Bring Out Your Inner Child 

Hopscotch, Red-light Green-light, Simon says, remember all those games we used to play as kids? Pass them onto your children and tag along. Relive your days as a child playing and laughing with your children. 

Dance Night 

Put on some good music and dance your hearts away. Dancing burns a ton of calories and creates some good memories you can cherish. You can make it a family tradition to have a dance night every week and pass on some of the O.G. dance moves to your kids. 

Veggie Delight 

Ask a child to eat a piece of broccoli and it won’t take long before you understand why children and veggies don’t go well together. Veggies are filled with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are essential for your child’s growth. Here are some ways to get it into your child’s diet: 

  • Vibrant platter, fill the plate with various veggies that look appealing and colourful. Instead of just a bland looking piece of broccoli go for a platter filled with tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and radishes. 
  • Use Dips, children may enjoy eating veggies with different dips or dressings. 
  • Include them in prep, the more involved children are the more they are likely to eat their creations. 

Gardening and Yard Work 

Weeding the garden, raking the leaves and clearing the yard of other debris requires a good amount of strength and endurance while having some fun quality time with your family. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, gardening qualifies as an exercise burning up to 300 calories in just 30 to 45 minutes. As an added bonus, your children will be more likely to eat the veggies you grow in your garden.  

Staying Hydrated 

Getting your child to drink enough water might seem like a tedious task but staying hydrated is really important as water is essential for normal functioning of the body. Here are some creative ways to get those fluids in: 

  • Flavour water with fruit slices, herbs or juices. 
  • Incorporate more fruits and veggies in your diet. 
  • Get them their favourite superhero sippy cups. 

In addition to these you can try drinking games with your family (minus the alcohol obviously). For example, toss a coin and make a call, you take a sip if you make a wrong call. 

Final Thoughts 

If you aren’t creative enough, you could find yourself in dire straits trying to keep your family healthy. So put on those thinking caps and figure out what works for your family and have some fun while you’re at it.