fitbody
Jump Rope Challenge
Did you know that children who jump
200 times a day can increase their
bone density in less than eight weeks?
Try leading your kids through different
jumping challenges, such as hopping
on one foot or creating jumping dance
routines.
Family Olympics
Have each family member pick out an
event of his or her choice. Hula-hoop-
ing, balancing on one foot, bike riding
and hopscotch are standard favorites.
Be Your kids’ Personal Trainer
Other games make the most of the
area where you live. Use a local lake
or pool for swimming competitions, or
by katy Santiago take advantage of the local park, which
often has an exercise circuit that affords
S
cientists project that children of this techno age will be the first to live a
shorter lifespan than the generation before them. Obesity, juvenile diabetes
spontaneous competitions.
and even osteoporosis are all on the rise in children younger than age 14.
While abundant food, junk food habits and excessive time glued to television and
minimize Screen Time
computer screens are to blame, it gives families hope to know that such diseases Computers, television, video games,
can be combated through simple, regular movement. and texting devices are amazing feats of
While every parent is concerned with the health of his or her child, many technology that, collectively, have the
haven’t discovered that correcting behaviors of little, and not so little, ones is potential to rob us of wellness by taking
highly doable. Parents typically come to my clinic eager to hire me to get their us off of our feet. First, have your fam-
children out of the danger zone for diseases. To them, I answer, “Hire yourself!”
ily sit down and add up all the hours
Parents make wonderful natural coaches, because your children have been
they spend sitting in front of a screen.
modeling themselves after you their entire lives. To succeed, we can start by look-
Once you have a total for each person,
ing at what the science says.
you can change habits in two ways: by
It turns out that bouts of exercise do not need to be continuous to be benefi-
progressively decreasing total screen
cial. Want to get 30 minutes of movement a day? Try encouraging the whole family
time by 10 percent each month, and
to get moving for just five minutes at a time, but as vigorously as possible. Make a
by standing during screen time. Create
game out of setting a timer, or picking a favorite song, following a rule that no one
a standing workstation for the family
stops moving until time is up.
computer and break for two-minute
Most children stop practicing movement when it is associated with low per-
exercise bouts during television com-
formance or negative feedback. You may have a star athlete in your family, as well
mercials.
as a non-athletic child, who feels best when twirling. So, create an environment
It is vital that parents lead by ex-
that encourages children to do what feels good to them. Movement is movement.
ample in every area of life. Even if you
The phenomenon of hyper-organized exercise is specific to the American culture;
regularly exercise at a gym or health
but all over the world, spontaneous dancing, wiggling or jumping is the norm. And
club, your children may not see you
other populations generally weigh less than we do.
exercise. Chances are, if you get up,
While most humans have an innate love of movement, many children shy
turn off the television and embark upon
away from sports. To get these kids moving, remember that ‘play’ is what we called
a quick walk around the block, your
movement before we redefined it as exercise. Incorporate natural movement into
kids will enjoy both the movement and
fun family rituals. The following can serve as idea-starters:
the time spent together.
Balance games
Biomechanist Katy Santiago has a mas-
Balance is one of those skills that tends to decrease with age, simply because we ters of science, is an expert in physics
stop practicing it. Wearing shoes is another habit that decreases the ability of the of the human body, and director of the
foot to balance. So, make home a shoe-free zone inside, and challenge the entire
Restorative Exercise Institute in Ventura,
family to join in simple balance games. Examples include doing assisted head-
CA. The institute’s corrective exercise
stands, standing on one foot with eyes closed, and walking with a book on your
programs are available on DVD at
head.
RestorativeExercise.com.
 Collier / Lee Counties
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