Keeping Kids Active During the Holidays
Routine often goes out the window during the holidays – school is done, sleeping in, movies, play dates, shopping and best of all no homework. The lead up to Christmas can often focus on food and treats…candy canes, santa lollies, Christmas chocolates and ice cream. So it is really important to make sure our kids are combatting this increase in calories with a bigger than normal expenditure of energy. Sometimes they may need a little encouragement to ditch their screens and computer games. Try and encourage the kind of exercise that is disguised as fun – backyard cricket games, swimming, surfing, skate boarding, dancing, handball, footie, skipping, bike riding, walking the dog and cartwheeling – it all adds up to sweating and laughing, which means a BIG kick of endorphins and lots of energy used. Also, make sure you set the right example. If you expect your children to be active, you’ll need to be active, too…one in all in.