Exercise and staying active are essential to your family’s health all year round. However, when the temperature drops and the days get shorter, it may be more challenging to encourage your screen-addicted child, spouse or self to get up from the comforts of a warm, cushy couch to break a sweat or leave the house.
It’s important to note that the CDC recommends that kids 6 to 17 get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day and that those guidelines apply to all four seasons. Getting the recommended amount of exercise reduces the risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes. Conversely too much screen time increases that risk, as well as their risk for poor sleep, depression and anxiety.
Unfortunately, the trifecta of colder weather, reduced daylight and less activity can lead to an unhealthy cycle of feeling down and irritable, eating out of boredom or comfort and gaining weight due to a lack of activity. Furthermore, the less they do, the more fatigued and tired they’ll be, ironically. Inactivity can deplete your energy.
The good news is that sunlight exposure and physical activity can boost mood and improve physical health. For one, exercise stimulates the release of endorphins, which are feel-good hormones that can improve mood and energy. Additionally, physical activity helps build strong muscles and bones and can improve sleep quality.
But, if you want your kids to exercise, don’t call it that. Make physical activity sound fun. Here are a few ideas to get your kids moving this winter.
Indoor activities inside the home
Cold and darkness can make it legit difficult to motivate to do something fun and active outside. Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to get your kids moving without leaving the house.
- Spread a yoga mat out on your living or basement floor and pop in a yoga or exercise video on your TV or search YouTube for one.
- Not a yoga fan? Put on some dance music and have a dance party, or a freeze-dance party, to make it more of a game. You can have as many as you like throughout the day. Try different artists and music genres. Make it a Swifty morning and a disco dinner.
- Create a race or obstacle course in your house, i.e., run up and down the stairs, around the living room, climb over the couch, crawl under the chair, etc. You can compete against your kids to see who has the best time.
- Create a scavenger hunt to get them running around looking for items. You can even hide a few outside, in the front or back yard, to ensure they get some sun exposure and fresh air.
Indoor activities outside the home
Kids getting a little stir crazy (or on your nerves)? Pile them in the car and head to an indoor trampoline park, climbing gym, playground or pool. Other options include indoor ice or roller skating. Some towns even have indoor skiing or snowboarding facilities. It won’t take much convincing to get your kids to visit one of these fun places for the afternoon. They won’t even realize they’re getting exercise.
Outdoor activities for kids
When the weather outside is frightful… bundle your kids up and take them to the nearest sledding hill. Again, they’ll be having too much fun to realize that walking up the hill after every fun trip down is good for their cardiovascular system.
If your kids like winter sports, try snow hiking, snowshoeing, downhill skiing, snowboarding or cross-country skiing with them. If they don’t like winter sports, entice them outside with a snowball fight or building a snowman. Or, weather permitting, hit the local playground and shoot some hoops, or just let the kids do their thing.
Bonus: getting outside and exposed to the sun can increase their vitamin D intake, which helps improve sleep and mood and boost their immune system. Remember, even though your kids may not be sweating outside as much as they do in the hot weather, it’s still important to keep them hydrated and to apply sunscreen.
What parents can do to motivate their kids
Competing with doom scrolling can be challenging. The first thing you can do to encourage your kids to put their devices down and get moving is to model the behavior yourself. Put your phone down, change out of your sweats and join your kids in the fun.
Secondly, mix things up. Dance party in the morning while dad makes pancakes and ice skating in the afternoon. Then, the next day, plan a scavenger hunt after they clean their rooms and hit the swimming pool later in the day.
And lastly, if you want them to venture outside, make sure they have coats, gloves, hats, boots and scarves that fit and will keep them warm and dry for hours during their outdoor adventures. The warmer and drier they are, the longer they’ll stay outside. Then, reward them with some hot chocolate.
The most important thing is to keep things fun and not make exercise feel like a requirement or punishment.
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