One of the problems with the computer age is motivating the kids to actually (gasp!) leave the computer screen and (dare I say it?) move their bodies in outdoors activities.
Heck, I’ll even forgo the word ‘outdoors and settle for ‘move the body!’. Sitting for hours on end in front of a computer, flexing only their mouse fingers, is a recipe for fossilized clam-ation (ie, becoming more and more lethargic and overweight).
I generally alleviate this with my kids by giving them a Dance Dance Revolution time – they love the music and consider bouncing about on the mat to be great fun. The exertion they accomplish is a side benefit for them….and a major benefit for me! 
It took me awhile to finally accept the following (hey, I’m a nerd, okay?), but sports is also a great bonus for kids in which to participate. It doesn’t even have to be marching band!
What really frosts my petunias, however, are the kids who sign up for extracurricular activities (like karate) and then whine to their parents, I’m tooooo tired! I don’t wannnnnnnna go!
Actually, it’s the parents who do the megaFrosting. As parents, we are responsible for helping kids make the right choices…and if they balk, then simply enforcing said right choices even if the kid complains is the only solution. Tired? Welcome to the real world! Mommy gets tired too sometimes with everything she does, but she doesn’t shirk her responsibilities….and neither should the children.
High expectations are a must when raising kids! If we allow our kids to wimp their way out of exercise and physical exertion, we’re simply setting the stage for them to fail later on in life. And alas, that…..is not something the kids own….it’s something for we we have a direct responsibility.
Here are some helpful resources for kids and exercise:
- KidsHealth – Exercise
- Fitness Beginnings
- Fitness and Exercise Guide for Children
- Richard Simmons Goes To Washington
My morning musings,
Barbara
ps – Want to know what’s available in kids exercise? Consider: