(Pictured above: 7-year-old Asher Rose enjoys in door rock climbing, an activity he likes to do with his dad, Daniel.)
A big challenge we face as parents is finding ways to exercise with our kids in a way that we all have fun. It’s challenging because everyone in our family is at a different skill level in almost every activity.
Daniel is athletic and played most sports growing up. I did not play or watch any team sports growing up but enjoyed jumping on my trampoline and gymnastics. Asher likes to play sports, but is still learning the rules and skills. Mia likes to be outside but is also very content to do indoor — more sedentary — activities like watching TV, coloring and playing with her dolls. She’s also quite the girly-girl and cannot handle mosquitoes or bugs. Once the bugs show up, she’s out. With all these different preferences, it can be hard to get everyone in the mood to do the same thing at the same time.
The family activity tracker has been motivating to get us outside in the evenings and on weekends. During the Fit Family Challenge, we’ve done backyard baseball, basketball and bike riding together. Mia actually rode her bike for the first time without training wheels on Mother’s Day, and we were all outside together to cheer her on. That was a really rewarding moment.
Finding time to exercise is always a challenge. Many days since having kids, I’ve decided not to exercise because I didn’t have a full hour to myself to devote to it that was free from distraction. Working-mom guilt makes me feel like I should be playing with them when I’m home instead of working out. I realize as a parent, I will very rarely find an hour of free time to work out. I have to make the time to exercise, and the kids need to see it so they know how important it is to take care of your health.
Daniel and I have started just doing our workouts with the kids underfoot and allow them to join in. The kids love it. They take pride in being fast and strong, and they really love to correct our form and show us how to do it better. Asher is recently able to do things Daniel really enjoys like indoor rock climbing and mountain biking. Mia likes to do workout DVDs with me. Instead of sending them outside to play on their own, I’ve started getting out there with them and playing more. If Daniel and I get outside and play with them, they play twice as long, and we get a workout, too!
— Courtney Rose
