Active Kids, Active Parents!

If your children see you regularly enjoying physical activities, they're much more likely to follow your example. It's never too early to introduce children to the fun of exercise - start taking regular walks with your baby in a stroller and they'll continue to expect it to be a part of everyday life as they grow older.

You can even start them young and take swimming lessons with your baby!

Take every opportunity you can to step up the pace of your everyday activities. In other words, make the most of incidental exercise opportunities like walking to the store. Research has shown that exercise doesn't need to be done all at once; 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there and so on, is just as good.

• Try walking or cycling with the children for short trips, instead of driving
• Park further away from the mall entrance when you go shopping
• If you take a bus or train, get out a stop early and walk the rest of the way
• Make a game out of household tasks - for example, the first child to clean their room gets to choose the program at TV time
• Keep a soccer ball, football, or baseball and bat in the car - you never know when you might have a chance to use them

Try to involve your children in active play (such as tag, football, or riding bikes) rather than just passive activities (like drawing or computer games).

There are lots of active games that children love to play, try some of these ideas:

• Play ping-pong
• Toss a Frisbee ® around
• Swim, play water volleyball, or duck-dive for pennies
• Play ball!
• Have piggy-back races or one-legged races
• Build a tree house, or backyard "clubhouse"
• Have a water balloon fight on a hot day!
• Make up imaginary characters and act out a play
• Shoot basketball hoops
• Go for bike rides
• Climb trees
• Play fetch with the dog
• Put on music and dance away

Sometimes children are reluctant to play actively on their own - you can encourage them by joining in. A game of tag is much more fun when Mom or Dad play too!

Choosing an active party theme has lots of benefits. As well as getting some exercise and burning off some of that endless energy that only kids have, there's no time to get bored, which means less chances to bicker or become over-excited.

• Many places hold organized party activities. Try roller-skating parties, pool parties, laser games, and mazes.
• If you're holding a party at home or in a park, plan plenty of games such as relay races, treasure hunts, tag, or try a piñata bash.
• You can also give presents which encourage activity, such as a jump rope, football, skateboard, rollerblades, or bike.

Monitor the amount of time your children spend in passive activities, such as watching television or spending time on the computer. Sure, these types of activities aren't bad for your child, but when they are done for long periods of time, and in place of more active activities, they do have a negative health impact.

Many studies show that watching television for more than about an hour a day causes health problems and impacts mental development.

To help your children get more active, keep television, computers, and DVDs to an enjoyable treat, and – most importantly – turn off the television when the show finishes! Don't just keep it on all day as background noise or a babysitter!

When children are old enough, organized sports are a great option. As well as improving their fitness, they'll also make friends, learn about team work, improve their coordination and motor skills, and learn the importance of keeping to rules and of being a "good sport.”

Make sure it's a sport they enjoy, and that the focus of the team is on having fun and participation rather than on being highly competitive, especially for younger children. Older kids might enjoy the challenge of a little healthy competition, but keep things in perspective. Organized sports can be anything from swimming, to football, to dancing.

Watching live sports events might help to encourage children to participate in a game at their level. Try following up a TV match with a backyard game of your own.

When you're planning family activities make them active ones, for example:

• Have the whole family go out for a walk after dinner
• Go for a family bike ride around and stop for a picnic along the way
• Go bowling
• Organize a picnic with other families or friends and be sure to include a game of some sort
• Set up a Frisbee ® golf challenge - it's like golf but using a Frisbee®! Take turns choosing the next “hole” (target) to hit and keep track of your scores
• Have a game of flag football
• Hire tandem bikes for a day
• Set up a backyard badminton game
• Get everyone in the family to choose their favorite songs and dance to them all - the kids will think your "uncool" music is hilarious and you'll have a laugh trying to dance to their "modern" tunes
• Try kayaking, sailing, or canoeing for a weekend treat
• Go for a day-long hike in a national park
• Explore an area in your city by foot - follow an historic trail or make your own route based on your family's interests
• Take a wander around your local markets - as a bonus you might even pick up some fresh, healthy produce for dinner