10 tips for getting your kid off the couch

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson's posts)
Oct 14th 2008 11:00AM

Categories: Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements

Bethany has been busy walking the walk lately, which is exactly what we parents should be doing when it comes to our kids, says Dr. David Katz of Yale University's School of Public Heath. Nearly 80% of moms and dads with kids ages six to 11 report they feel responsible for their kids' physical fitness. In many ways, they are. How do they hold themselves accountable for this all-important responsibility, though? Well, by practicing what they preach. Here, 10 ways parents can walk the walk and coax their kiddos off the couch.

Turn off the TV. Ax the video games and the Internet too. Instead, tune into the outdoors. Once there, move your bodies. Kids spend nearly six hours each day glued to some sort of screen. Time to break this habit.
Walk. Find opportunities to walk. Walk the mall, walk your neighborhood, take the stairs. Just log 10,000 steps per day and you'll cover about five miles.
Be flexible. Set modest goals and your kids will be more likely to comply with physical fun.
Make it fun. Exercise is so much easier when it's fun. Forget traditional sports and try dancing, balloon volleyball in the living room, a sack race in the back yard.
Make it a contest. Find who in your family can do the most push-ups, who can dribble a basketball the fastest, who can run the farthest.
Run. Find local fun runs that are open to all ages, and get your whole crew to sign up and race for the finish line.
Get some wheels. Ride bikes and get some scooters, roller blades, and skateboards.
Dance. Crank up the music and dance. No inhibitions, no rules, no weight gain -- dancing for 15 minutes per day can trim 10 pounds per year.
Take a hike. Find some trails, and walk. Pack a picnic lunch, play Frisbee, and toss a football too while you're at it.
Stay young. Play kid games with your kids, like tag and hide-and-seek. Ask your little ones to lead the family in a game of their choice.

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... 10-14-2008 @ 2:54PM

I disagree with stopping video games. Just get better, more active video games. I'd recommend Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Fit, Wii Sports, etc. I dropped my BMI from 34 to 23 by playing video games (Dance Dance Revolution in particular). The contest and fun aspects mentioned in the original post are built right into video games too -- video games keep track of scores, so the whole family can try to beat the other members' scores. (And watch out! Many parents report not being able to keep up with their kids at Dance Dance Revolution, so kids love it.) There are exercise DVDs for the TV too, but most are rather boring, so if people have camcorders, maybe try making your own exercise videos. Getting kids involved in choosing the music and activities might make playing back those videos more fun. The idea that TV and video games are necessarily unhealthy is based on old technology. Get with the millennium!