How To Keep Your Family Active at Home
Home is traditionally where we relax, slumping on the sofa for some well-earned Netflix therapy, or chill video games. But now that where we spend most of our time, we have to make sure it’s a livelier atmosphere that encourages movement. Use these ideas about how to keep your family active at home to spark solutions for you.
Video Overview:
Turn On the TV
It sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s a sneaky way to interest kids—and spouses—in new ways to exercise. Your TV probably already offers a fitness channel, or you can subscribe to a health-minded package. YouTube has thousands of free workouts. Leave a yoga class on, or a kids-specific kickboxing tutorial. It’s one way to “expose” kids to new interests.
Adopt a Pet To Stay Active at Home
We don’t recommend this lightly. Pets are a huge responsibility. But if you think your personal trainer is relentless, you should experience a dog begging for a walk. Yes, Mom will probably end up doing the day-to-day feeding and cleaning, but you can count on your kids to tumble around with an adorable puppy.
Use Your Yard To Stay Active at Home
More families are emphasizing outdoor living. If your backyard isn’t getting as much use as your family room, some new features might help make it irresistible. Eat dinner outside regularly—you could use a picnic table, or create a whole picnic area, to make it fun. Put up a badminton net. Set up an obstacle course with things you find around the house. Or if you add a more drastic improvement—like an outdoor kitchen—you can count on increasing the value of your home.
Learn a Dance
You’ll be risking complaints of “Ew, cringe!”, but taking an interest in TikTok has benefits for your health and your relationship with your kids. If Gordon Ramsay, Jessica Alba, and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson aren’t embarrassed to try some moves publicly, you shouldn’t be, either. Just start with the easier dances, or your TikTok career will end quickly.
Get Competitive
Reverse the “last one there is a rotten egg” tradition with some “first one there gets to decide dinner” energy. Or, if you’d rather not have the competitiveness of racing disrupt your home, instead introduce challenges that give everyone a chance. Who can hula hoop the longest? Who can learn the coolest jump rope routine? Who can do sit-ups every morning for a month? You can even get 1-pound weights for strength-conditioning challenges at any skill level.
The secret to how to keep your family active at home is to approach it through their eyes. What gets them moving already? Do they love to watch soccer, or miss their youth sports teams? Would they like to join you on your morning run? Do they want to show you gymnastics moves they’ve learned? Nurture the interests they already have and influence their growth with related activities. If one thing doesn’t work, try another. Keep the focus fun, and you’ll get closer in the process.
