Lately, there has been a surge in the number of parents who squeeze in a couple of hours each day to exercise and work out together. Popular celebrities and personalities make sure they have a gym at home, so they can work out even during the pandemic. But aside from working out as a couple, parents also started letting their kids join in the fun. After all, wouldn’t it be nice to see your kids living a healthy and active lifestyle, too?
Health and Wellness
Children need to understand why their health needs a boost. They have to realize how important it is to be well, especially these times. Working out together shows that. It’s going to be fun for them to do things with you, so it’s easier to encourage kids to continue a healthy and active lifestyle.
Being healthy also means your kids are less susceptible to injuries. They get sick less often because working out is a great immune booster. And when and if they have to be treated for an injury, disease, or disorder, they can better adjust to the physiotherapy sessions that are being recommended these days instead of medication and even surgery. Since they’re very active and comfortable with physical methods, it’s easier for them to adapt to this kind of treatment.
Connection Point
When couples work out together and talk about their workouts at the dinner table, the kids will feel left out. Including them in the conversation won’t cut it. Kids are imaginative, but they are more experiential, too. Making them discover which workout they like will build a connection point. You can talk about it together. It’s a bonding experience when you work out, but the conversations after will make your relationships stronger.
Self-esteem and Competitiveness
Working out is also great for anyone’s self-esteem, confidence, and competitiveness. People who work out have more of the happy hormones called dopamine in their systems. These hormones don’t only make people feel happier, but they are also more confident. They can take on more tasks, and they believe that they can do more.
As for competitiveness, kids need to develop their competitiveness spirits. It will make them better in school, social activities, and life. Kids who are naturally competitive achieve more of their goals than those who are not trained to compete with others. As long as your kids know the difference between pettiness and competitiveness, there is no reason for them not to learn this great human value.
Working out gives them a certain edge in terms of being more competitive than their peers. As long as the competition is done in a friendly environment, your kids are going to love competing for prizes and even trying to beat your own records. This is also a great time to build camaraderie among siblings. Group them together and let them try to beat you—the parents.
Doing Sports Together
The idea of working out is not isolated to going to the fitness center or having a treadmill at home. The idea is to spend time together doing something you all love. Sports is another thing that you can do as a family. You can play backyard football. You can out-swim each other in the community center. Or simply, you can run in the park, have a picnic after, and “gang up” on whoever loses that day.
Contributing to Causes
This ability is also a great starting point to teach kids the importance of volunteerism and charity. As a family, you can run, bike, and climb a hill for different causes. There’s the breast cancer awareness month every October and the World’s Day Against Child Labor every June 12.
But before joining any charity event, make sure that your kids understand what the advocacy is. If you’re joining the breast cancer awareness month, talk to them about what the event does and even what cancer is. If you have someone you know who is suffering from breast cancer, you can cite that person as an example to your kids.
During these events, your kids will not only feel active, but they will also feel good to contribute to a worthy cause. You shouldn’t always choose the organization to support. Ask for your family’s input, too. Your kids, in particular, could want to support a particular cause next time.
Parents are the kids’ first role models. Before they get to know celebrities and sports icons, they are going to look up to their parents first. Even when they’re idolizing certain personalities, they’ll still point to you as a role model and inspiration, so try to instill in them the love for healthy and active lifestyles as early as you can.
