Fun Ways to Exercise for Kids

The best way for children to exercise involves making sure the activity is fun and that the actual word "exercise" is used sparingly. Our society has given the word "exercise" a rather bad name and made it sound like a punishment of sorts for enjoying food and occasionally not fitting into what society perceives as a healthy body. It's vital for kids to exercise, but equally as important that stigmas are not attached to the many reasons why.

Games

• Kids love games and will go to great lengths to play a wide variety of them. Rather than calling the children out into the backyard to exercise, gather the whole family instead to play a game that requires physical activity. Dodge ball and badminton are great backyard games. Almost anyone can play them and they both require the kind of exercise that gets the blood pumping. Other games that require lots of exercise include tag, football, basketball and Frisbee.

Covering Unchartered Ground

• Whether by foot or by bicycle, if you make a game out of covering new ground and discovering new and exciting places to visit, your kids will be exercising and loving it; and you will, too. Make a point of taking a walk and going a different way than you usually do, or setting a goal of riding bikes for 1 mile or 2 miles on Saturday afternoon. The novelty won't wear off if the challenge and the scenery are occasionally changed.

Team Sports

• Team sports have long been the catalyst for getting kids to exercise. Whether they play lacrosse, soccer, baseball, basketball, or join a gymnastics team, dance team or cheering squad, the results are all the same. These wholesome activities afford kids constant exercise while having fun.