Monday, May 28, 2012

Healthy Habits: Active Kids

How to Determine if Your Child Should Be More Active
No parent wants to admit that their child needs to be more active. However, for many parents, it has not even crossed their minds. Yet, many children would happily spend all day in front of the TV. Do not let this happen to your kids! The following list will help you determine if you need to rethink your child's priorities.

1) Gaining Weight
If your small child is overweight, then you should first speak with a doctor. Find out why they’re overweight. If they simply need to burn more calories, then you must make them get out from the living room. They need to be enrolled in an active sport that will get them moving. Sign them up for soccer practice, swim team or dancing lessons – anything that will get them moving. The more overweight they are as a child, the better chance they have at becoming obese as an adult. You do not want to see your child's health and mental state deteriorate. It’s your responsibility to get them moving now!

2) Grades Slipping
If a child's grades are slipping, then this could mean that they are not motivated to do well. This could be for a myriad of reasons, but one might be self esteem. Often, getting involved in a sport or other activity could be exactly what they need to get that self esteem back on track. Being good at something and enjoying it can do wonders, so consider this deeply before simply punishing them or assuming that they’re just bad at math.

3) Boredom
If your child complains of boredom, then they need to find something that will keep them occupied! You can help them by suggesting activities or playing with them. A bored child will often resort to the computer and TV, and before you know it, you have to pry them away from the dang thing. Keep them busy, so that this does not happen.

4) Loneliness
Whether or not they articulate it, there’s a good chance that your child may want more friends. Don’t jump to conclusions, but if your child frequently sits at home alone, rather than going out or talking about friends, then it might behoove you both to get them involved somehow. Don’t be picky, be open. Maybe they just want to spend time at an arcade, or maybe they want to spend time volunteering at a hospital. Whatever it is, let them get out and about, so that they can experience something besides your house and hopefully make some friends in the process.

As you can see, there are many reasons to get your kids more active, some of which can have health consequences. Always be on the look out, because kids only are young once, and you don’t want to set them up for failure down the road.

Marysa Maiquonda writes about parenting, online shopping & saving money at www.homeownersinsurance.org.

No comments:

Post a Comment