My son loves playing sports. There was a lull between baseball and soccer season this year. By the time soccer season rolled around, he was practically bouncing with excitement. He had really missed the fun and camaraderie of weekly practices and games.

But not all kids love team sports as much as my son ... and that's OK. Any activity that they enjoy is beneficial for their health and good for their social skills. I'm not a believer in pushing kids into activities they don't want to participate in. But making the sport more fun and encouraging your child can be a great thing ... for both of you.

My son and I have a habit of practicing the soccer drills he learns in practice in our backyard. We also go down to a local soccer field and I blast kicks at him so he can work on his goalie skills, then he takes a turn aiming for different areas of the net to improve his ability. (Admittedly, I don't present much of a challenge as a goalie.)

I saw a great post on Fitsugar today about encouraging healthy habits in others. It's a topics that interests me because I'm always trying to inspire healthy living in my friends and family now that I know how great it feels to live healthfully. Jon might be a lost cause but I'm working on my friends

Here are some ways I (and you) can encourage healthy habits in friends:

• Instead of heading to a restaurant, where you'll be tempted to order something unhealthy, have a potluck at your house and make something healthy. But if you must go to a restaurant, make it a healthy one ... like a sushi place.
  

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