Summer may be the time of warm weather and outdoor activities, but for many kids, there may be no change in routine from the colder seasons. Children in the United States spend an average of seven-and-a-half hours per day in front of some kind of screen, whether its a TV or an iPad. Additionally, only one in every three children actually gets the recommended amount of physical activity per day. If your child is at risk for being inactive during the long months between school years, then it may be time to establish a family-friendly kids fitness routine for the summer.
If you need some ways to get your children motivated, try these fun and easy kids fitness tips for the summer months:
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1. Take walks together as a family. One of the best ways to get your kids active is to make outdoor fun a regular part of family time. This helps children establish things like walks or trips to the park as part of a routine. Plus this doesn’t just improve your kids fitness but the whole family’s, too.
2. Enroll your kids in a summer sports program. Another way to get kids to get outside and play is to choose a sports program for them during the summer. Baseball, soccer, and even kids “boot camp” programs can help kids stay active. In some areas, you may even be able to sign them up for a day program that will help them play all sorts of games and get adequate kids nutrition to up their intake of fruits and vegetables and decrease the amount of empty calories they’re getting.
3. Send your children to summer camp. There are approximately 12,000 summer camps in the United States, with around 5,000 dedicated to daytime programs only. That means that there are plenty of great programs for your children to choose from, so they can enjoy everything from beach camps to kids camps in the woods.
Need more ideas for keeping your kids active this summer? Leave a comment below. Research more like this.