Take It Outside
06/01/2009
Kids love to play, but video games don’t provide the cardio-building exercise essential to keeping them fit.
Develop skills
Backyard games, however, are a super way to keep kids moving and energized. According to Dr. Ann Boyce, associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Virginia, outside play also helps develop crucial motor skills (much more so than computer games).
Healthier minds and bodies
Exercise is also a mood elevator, she says. Kids who exercise regularly are healthier physically and mentally. Boyce recommends at least 30 minutes per day of physical exercise for elementary-age children. “Really, any game where your kids keep moving is ideal,” she says.
Getting your kids active may be easier if you up the fun quotient. Here are some new twists on old favorites:
Fun-Run Treasure Hunt: Create an “on the move” scavenger hunt with hints that send players racing to clue locations. The object is to run hard enough to get the heart rate up before finding the treasure.
Flashlight Tag: Keep playing after the sun goes down. The person who is “IT” counts to ten, then searches out the other players by “tagging” them with the flashlight beam.
Tag Charades: Mix a favorite outdoor game with a favorite indoor game: Tag—you’re it. Then the person who tagged you will make up something (a character, animal, etc.) and ask the person who was just caught to act it out.
Dr. Boyce says there are many benefits to being active. “Kids who exercise regularly have better self-esteem and are sick less,” she says.
So get moving!
