Top Tips for Helping Your Child to Be Physically Active

**Collaborative Post**

AD: Being physically active is important for us all, not only does it help us stay healthy but it has several other benefits too including helping us learn new skills, build up our strength and help us mentally too. For this reason, it is beneficial to introduce our children to different sports or the benefits that heading to the gym can give your child, This includes building up a lot of confidence, raising endorphins, and a great deal of self-esteem. It’s also a great way to get your child involved in lots of different activities in and out of school, which we can all help our child with. 

With this in mind, if your child is reluctant to try new things or you are looking for some tips to get them started, keep reading below. 

Play together in groups

Encourage your child to play together with you, other family members, and friends, to get them to learn to find enjoyment in physical activities. Do you remember when our children were small and we used to teach them by example to do simple things like feeding and tidying? Well, the same still counts now, in fact even as teens, kids are still looking to mimic our behaviour so don't be afraid to get stuck in and lead by example. If children know that other people are playing with them then they will be a lot more motivated to see things through and get involved. There are a lot of different activities you can try with your child in groups, like rounders, hosting a sports day in the garden, or playing hide and seek to name a few.

Talk about the benefits of physical activities

Keeping yourself fit and healthy gives you a lot of great benefits to both your body and your mental health. This is where it is so beneficial to be open, honest, and talk about the best things about keeping fit regularly with your child. With improved heart rate, muscle strength, and general fitness they can combat any potential weight issues, there’s an abundance of reasons why being physically active at a young age is important. It is important at this point as well not to focus too much on "weight" but more on a balanced, healthy diet and exercise plan rather than anything extreme. Everything is in moderation and everything enjoyable. 

Work out together

Going for walks together daily; heading out for a jog; going to gymnastics classes; and heading out to the swimming pool - there are so many different ways you can involve your child in your own physical activities. In fact, incorporating exercise into days out and family activities means it probably won't even feel like you are doing exercise or working out anyway! Working out together can help your child feel a lot more inspired to follow in your footsteps with the added benefit of spending more time together being active and away from tech and distractions. So long as what you suggest is appropriate for them to explore and isn’t too difficult for your child to handle it can be fun for the whole family. 

A good place to start is with your child’s school or college, like this sixth-form college in London, to help them find what interests them and how you can help them enjoy these different activities. Many schools will either run after-school clubs and activities or will be able to point you to places that do so don't be afraid to reach out to them and ask. 

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