We all need to make fitness and health a priority! What motivates me is knowing that I need to set an example and model it for my kids. We all know that chasing after our kids in the park or driving them all over town for their sports or doing laundry may burn off a few calories but it does not count as exercise. It is easy as parents to get busy and forget to prioritize our own workouts. I am more motivated when I can involve the whole family with weekend hikes and walks/runs or a long bike ride. This is also a great way for our kids to see exercise as fun rather than a chore.
It is important to teach kids about healthy lifestyles that include exercise and balance in what they eat so they do not get into the yo-yo mentality of extreme dieting. As the mother of girls, I have watched them coming home since elementary school with concerns about their looks and their weight. In school, we have seen girls as young as nine talk about dieting and making hurtful comments about other girls body shapes. It is challenging to know how to address this and support your child in having a healthy body image. In one of our articles below, this line really stood out... “Children and teens are very susceptible to picking up value judgments about body shape and size. If we teach them – through dieting, over-exercise behaviors and critiques of our own bodies – that there is a "good’ body type, then that is exactly what children will strive for.” According to the National Eating Disorders Association, weight and body consciousness among children begins at very young ages, with research finding that 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat and 46 percent of 9- to 11-year-olds are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets.
What are your fitness goals for you and your family for 2012? SHARE YOUR OWN FITNESS OR FOOD TIP or GOALS & be entered to win one of our review products >>
The ParentClick Team
Kristen and Julie
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