Fitness for Families

Sheri Garver, North Carolina

DVDs and video and computer games—they’re probably on your Christmas wish list. Your children would love to watch and play them, but have you thought to include gifts that encourage exercise fun?

A few years ago my husband and I took stock of our children’s Christmas gifts and realized there was nothing that would promote physical activity. So we returned many of the gifts we had purchased, and we bought instead a simple badminton set and other items for outdoor fun. If your finances allow, you could include bikes, basketball and baseball equipment, or other outdoor games that encourage an active lifestyle. Gifts need not be expensive. Consider giving simple gifts such as a jump rope, sidewalk chalk to make a hopscotch game, a ball, a sled, or a squirt gun for an outside game of chase.

Even with new Christmas toys to boost their enthusiasm, your children will be more likely to play if you join the fun. Challenge them to shoot hoops or play with you, and see how fast they move! Our children crave our attention, and we love spending time with them—and getting a bonus workout too.