Join UrbanMoms as we discuss being active and making healthy choices in the “life is good” blog series sponsored by Nesquik. At a time when most Canadian children may not be getting the calcium and other essential nutrients they need, delicious milk – like chocolate milk made with Nesquik – is just a good idea.
As Chef Dad I get to spend a lot of time dreaming up delicious things to make at home for my family. While my ultimate goal is to make something delicious that everyone is going to love to eat, I also need to keep in mind the importance of teaching my kids how to make smart food decisions, and incorporate healthy eating into their diets.
One of the challenges we face as parents in this digital era is ensuring our children have time unplugged from the litany of high tech brain candy. Handheld games, gaming consoles, and television programs all vie for our children’s attention and precious recreational time
We are all aware how hard it can be for adults to pry themselves away from a screen to incorporate exercise into their everyday lives. It’s even more important for us to engrain the benefits of exercise and activity in our children’s lives so that they can learn how to lead healthy, active lives and make good choices as they grow and mature. Exercise has so many long and short-term benefits which we must teach our children to thrive and seek out. Goodness knows the plasma screen we have attached to our living room wall does has its own gravitational pull…
My youngest daughter has her birthday in August. Last summer we were hemming and hawing about where we should hold her birthday party. When we saw the sky-high prices of rental facilities we thought about doing the party at home. We lacked a theme or activity, though.
That’s when we got a great idea from my brother and sister-in-law in Nashville. When we visited them last year my kids spent the entire long weekend bouncing around on their backyard trampoline. We decided to take the money we were going to spend on the party, and asked our families to help out towards the price of the trampoline and net in lieu of gifts.
While at the time we thought we were solving a short term problem, it was actually one of the greatest investments we ever made. Aside from a great birthday party, instead of coming home from school and vegging out in front of a screen, my kids head straight for the backyard to jump to their hearts’ content. We’re even out there along with them on many days – and instead of calling them for dinner from in front of a screen, we’re coaxing them from outside where they are jumping, laughing, and kidding around the way, well, kids should.
Buying a trampoline was the best fall-back birthday party plans we ever made. Sometimes we forget that it does not require hi-tech gadgets and full-fledged fun fairs to entertain our kids. With a bit of encouragement, their imaginations can turn the most simple activity into a fun-filled adventure. The health benefits are our little secret!
Encouraging your kids to be active and not just play sports is critical to their overall health. If you can do it as a family even better. Plus, eating a balanced and nutritious diet to help fuel their little bodies is just as important.
This kind of “play for fun” is so important. I don’t see enough of it happening these days. If the kids don’t figure out their own way to have fun and be active they will never be active adults. Love the pic!
I WISH our small urban backyard had enough space for a trampoline! My kids love them. You are right, there are so many simple ways to make sure your kids remain active. It doesn’t have to be organized, spontaneous is important too.