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20 surefire, painless ways to get your child moving during the pandemic

How can I get my child to be more physically active - without having to say it over and over or have them complain about it? Ah. Gotcha. Yes. 

Now more than ever, we as parents, are trying to answer this question. We are still in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic and most of our children are left without organized sports, playdates, and community fun. Here in Los Angeles and many other cities across America, we still have no in-person school with stay-at-home orders still in effect. 

Meanwhile, our kids are spending more and more time in front of screens for distance learning, entertainment and video game playing, sitting more and doing less, which has just left parents reeling. 

As a mother, I feel you and I'm right there with you.  

Here are some tips we have used in our household to increase physical activity for our son that might help you too!

1. Get out your bikes, scooters, skates, skateboard and whatever you have to ride around the block. Have none of that? Walk. Go outside and take 30 minutes to ride, talk, and connect outside.
2. Workout, yourself! The best part is, you don't even have to say a word to get them to follow. See living proof right here in the cutest little 11 second video of my son and I when he was just a wee little one. 
Come to find out there's a whole bit of science behind this. The number one predictor of if your child will be physically active now and in the future is . . . if you are. Case in point - I grew up watching my dad do sit ups and push ups in the evenings, and so I do, now my son does this too. My older brother is the same. He never misses a workout to this day and no one has to tell him to do it.
See that positive trickle down effect?
If you want your child to be in better shape, have the wind at his or her sails, then do it yourself. You're not only doing them a favor, you are doing yourself one too.
3. Earn screen time. Your child wants to play Minecraft? Fortnite? Roblox? Great! Earn it. For every X minutes spent doing active activities or getting X projects completed, then X minutes will be earned to play video games.
4. Use these examples to earn screen time or whatever motivates your child:
play outside - kids will naturally find hundreds of things to do out there if you give them some time and a push to go!
hiking
hopscotch
jumping rope
running lines drawn in the driveway
sidewalk chalk art 
reorganizing parts of their room
helping around house - what can they do that will help the family?
making a donation pile - have them find things they no longer use that someone else can and put it in a donation box or bag
basketball
soccer
animal moves - bear crawls, crab walks, frog jumps, inchworms...go!
art projects, drawing & crafts
writing thank you cards or letters to loved ones with squat jumps in between
reading + planks + reading + planks
have a family sit up contest. go!
5. Create a weekly or monthly challenge together that will get them moving! My son and I decided that we would do 1 mile a day for the month of December. Happy to report that he did it. More about how we did it in an upcoming post. Be on the lookout. 

Ok, so you need a workout to get you going? Fire up your legs, glutes and core now with this 14 minute workout. Have your child do it with you or time you.

Perform move 1 for 3 minutes + move 2 for 2 minutes + move 3 for 1 minute then rest 1 minute. Do this x 2 for a total of 14 minutes.

1. Walking Lunges 3 min - drop back knee to tap or hover the floor

2. Squats 2 min - feet about hip width, push hips back like you are going to sit in a chair and extend hips fully at the top

3. ”V” ups 1 min - start on your back with arms overhead, legs straight. Lift arms and feet at the same me to create a ”V” shape. Lower with control and hover limbs over the floor.  X 1 minute

Shine on and talk with you soon. 

 

 

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