Let's Get Fit and Have Fun

When working with children of all ages, we must be sure to not just teach them mentally, but physically as well. When we have children who are not getting exercise at home, we must take the initiative to engage the children with physical activities to ensure the children are healthy and growing physically the way they should. If we as adults do not make sure the children are physically active, they have a high risk of becoming obese, unhealthy with diseases, or even have growing difficulties due to not getting the proper amount of exercise and nutrition together. We just take this responsibility serious as we have too many children who are overweight as of today.

At this age, children are not only developing their motor skills, but they are also developing their social skills. Another development at their age would be their habits and their abilities to decide what is right and wrong. In those things they need to be well nourished and physically active. That is why they need to be taught what to eat to stay healthy and to be active to keep their hearts and minds healthy as well.

When children do not engage in physical activity, they are at a very high risk of becoming overweight and even obese. When a child becomes obese, it is a very serious and life threatening issue and if it is not watched carefully in children, then it becomes a problem from an early age. If we instill in the children at an early age the importance of exercise and get them to enjoy it then, it will not be a issue when they get older. Being obese can cause so many problems in a child’s life. It can cause them to be made fun of, or even abused physically in some cases. So it’s not just a health issue, but a social issue as well.

A few ways adults can help children be more active and enjoy the exercise we need to stay healthy is to come up with enjoyable games and interactions that promote exercise or movements that expend energy. One thing an adult could do is to get the children to play a game like Duck-Duck-Goose. It can make them stand up, sit down, squat, turn around and many other actions in the one game. Another game that is a great one to not only get the body moving, but also gets the mind involved as well is Simon Says. It’s a great way to teach listening and responding promptly when they here a specific group of words, Simon Says.

Adults are the key to making everything grow to joy in a child. So if we take our time and show children that everything about nutrition and exercise can be enjoyable and fun, then they will take that with them through life and teach others what they have learned as well. This could be a snowball effect on a country that is in need of good health and nutritional values.