Keeping the kids healthy can be a chore, or it can be something that’s routinely expected and easy to manage. A lot of how the results turn out depends on your approach. Making exercise and good health seem like something on a pedestal, something that is a forced break from the enjoyment of other activities (like eating junk food or playing video games) is going to result in exercise seeming like a chore. If instead you put exercise in a positive light, make it something that’s pursued every day out of habit rather than out of some outlandish requirement, will make it much easier to get everyone to participate. Kids may say they don’t like exercise, but they like to move around and do things, so it can be easier to convince them to participate if you know what to do and what to keep in your home exercise arsenal.
Convenience is a big thing, and so whatever you decide shouldn’t seem too outside your family’s daily norm. Keeping an exercise ball handy in the house, for instance, can make a huge difference, even if it seems like a small step at first. If little Johnny or Peggy sees Mom or Dad using an exercise ball as a seat during TV shows or home movie time and watches him/her exercise while enjoying a favorite activity, it can encourage the child to follow in his/her parent’s footsteps. Similarly, keeping jump ropes and other physical fitness equipment around that’s kid friendly makes exercising convenient at all times.
If your kids need extra motivation, you may need to use stronger weapons in your arsenal, namely, the enforcement factor. This is for when the simple fitness object being in the room isn’t enough. Instead, you can try something like using exercise balls as seats in the living room instead of couches, or getting the kids to jump rope a hundred times before having an afternoon snack. You should never deny your kid essential food, but encouraging a trade-off of physical activity for a light snack can make for a more inviting fitness environment.
Don’t forget simple things too, like spending time outside with the kids if you have a backyard or a local park that’s easy to get to. The outside on its own encourages exploration and play, and moving around in just about any fashion is better than sitting sedentary on a sofa for three straight hours every evening.