Children will follow your example, not your advice.
Working out with kids can be intimidating and sound exhausting. As a mother of three children five years old and younger I completely understand that overwhelming feeling. After I had my first child I was determined to keep up my physical activity. As a new mom, more then anything I needed the mental outlet of working out and those endorphins pumping through my body! When you're a first time mom your world has just been rocked. I would consider myself lucky with two continuous hours of sleep and a proper meal (sweedish fish and diet coke don't count). We are all guilty of turning to sugar for your afternoon "picker upper".
After I had my third baby last May, I realized I needed to get moving physically more then ever. I had a really difficult pregnancy that broke me down mentally and limited my physical activity. I was very sick and wasn't able to workout much. I've always been active and believe that children will follow your example more than just your advice. I believe it is very important to root into your family the importance of taking care of yourself from an early age. We need to eat healthy so our bodies have the energy needed to get us through our daily activities. We all know kids are very observant and notice every little thing we do. Stressing the importance of eating healthy and getting exercise is a great way to be an example to your children and sets them up for a healthy lifestyle.
One of my favorite ways to get the whole family moving, is to workout at our local high school track. I have my children bring their scooters and they will scoot around the track while I am running laps pushing my baby in her stroller. Everyone is happy, feeling the sunshine and getting their heart pumping. I also love to throw in some stair sprints with a couple intervals of walking lunges while pushing my stroller. A local track is a great way to keep your kids contained and everyone can stay together.
Don't underestimate your child's physical ability. My five year old son loves to race me up the stairs. He loves the competition and it keeps me motivated. If you aren't comfortable running up stairs, you can do walking lunges up the steps to keep your heart rate up and to get a burn in your legs and glutes.
Don't forget the importance of stretching after your workout. I have recently become a huge fan of yoga and stretching is now more important to me then ever. Kids usually don't have the patience for stretching but once you do it with them a few times it will slowly become a habit and they will enjoy learning new ways to stretch. You can play some fun counting games while holding different stretches.
The most important thing is to have fun! Bring a soccer ball, bring the scooters and just get moving. If you don't get that die-hard 30 minute workout in, still be proud of yourself. Getting out of the house and showing your kids that exercise is important is an accomplishment in and of itself. You could have wasted that time eating another left over dinosaur nugget or watching another episode of your favorite soap opera. Make a commitment to yourself and your family that you will make exercise and eating healthy a priority and in no time you will notice the satisfaction and happiness it will bring. Kids don't need anymore technology, they need to be outside getting there knees dirty and you showing them the way!
All outfits for myself and daughter were providednby Fabletics and Fabkids. Fabkids has recently launched a darling new activewear line a for girls and it's a definite must have! Links are provided to the right.
XOXO
Annie
