How do you model good fitness for your kids?

[SigridEllis]

Not in the philosophical sense, but in the ACTUAL sense. What do you do?

We homeschool, and decided ages ago that the kids needed to grow up with regular physical activity as a habit. I know I've mentioned Aristotle elsewhere on the boards, but the idea is, you become that which you do habitually. Practice fit habits and fitness comes.

So the kids are in swim lessons, karate lessons, and circus lessons. My daughter takes a dance class. And once a week there is a homeschool playgroup at the park, with about fifteen kids doing whatever they want on the playground. They are learning lifelong skills (swimming, karate) and youth-based skills (trapeze, acrobatics).

But the most important part is my partner and I. We joined the YMCA as a family, and we *commit* to going three days a week. I take tai chi, my partner runs, I weight train. We all stretch on the mats together and talk about how we're improving, what was hard or easy on a given day. We talk about goals, and about how things don't come easy right away.

My kids are both eight years old, and I don't know whether any of this is sticking with them. I hope it is! I suppose we'll find out in fifteen years or so ...

How about you? What do you do around or with your kids?

[BarefootDawsy]

My kids are both pretty young still (2 & a half and 10 months) so involvement is pretty limted, however I do tend to included them in some of my bodyweight traiing sessions. The older one loves it and tries to copy me It's great seeing him doing squats and laughing about it! The younger just watches with a bemused look on his face. At this age I think diet's the biggest thing...we try to make as much of thee food they eat as we can and limit the junk, though there are some organic/preservative free baby foods that we give our youngest for snacks.

I'm really looking forward to the kids to get older so we can take them out for hikes, runs, bike rides, etc

[SigridEllis]

Diet is still a big thing with eight year olds! We have a "all the fruits and veggies you want" policy, always have had it. We feed the kids A Meal, of protein and veggies and fruit and some carbs. If they finish everything and are still hungry, they can eat all the fruit and veggies they want. Good nutrition is wed to appetite and a sense of control on their part. Additionally, we have a One Treat A Day policy. At lunch the kids can have a small amount of ANYTHING. A bowl of ice cream. A few pieces of chocolate. A bowl of ramen noodles. A tablespoon of butter. Peanut butter and honey on crackers. A piece of cheese. *whatever* they want. It's their lunch treat, allowing them to appreciate the sugary, salty, greasy, fatty side of life the way it was meant to be appreciated -- in moderation.

The unintended side effect of this policy? *I* only get one moderately-sized treat a day! A couple of squares of dark chocolate, or some yogurt with nuts ...

[67alecto]

It all starts with setting a good example. If you spend all day in front of the Xbox, that is the behavior you model for your kids.

Get them involved in being outside, and teach them the importance of balance. We have days where they may get to watch TV and play on the computer, we have days where we kick them outside to play. In general we have the rule that if you throw a fit, you simply do not get what it is you are throwing the fit about. It simply doesn't happen. Ever. So if they complain about not being able to watch TV, I used to have to tell them that if they continued, they also wouldn't watch any tomorrow.

But back to modeling the desired behavior:

My wife and I like to hike. We started out taking my son on them with us, but he got tired of it, so it was easier to simply leave him with my mom when we wanted to go on a long hike. Now, when we want to go on a hike, we mix it with another activity we know he'll like. There's a state forest nearby that has a stream crossing through it. We'll get both kids to go on a hike under the guise of a picnic and playing in the stream for a few hours.

I've also taken them geocaching...a hike isn't a hike if you're looking for hidden treasures.

For my oldest (who is 9), he got to sample various sports through the school system. He had some behavior issues when he was younger, so I enrolled him into Tae Kwon Do, where he eventually got his black belt. Once that was done, we gave him the option to either continue or pick some other activities. He chose swimming, so we got him into a swim team prep course through one of the local Universities.

Now, he just finished a cross country running program, and is also doing a dodge ball club and a chess club. We have shown him that there are so many fun things out there, that our Wii went unused for so long that the batteries in one of the remotes corroded. Over the summer, he got to spend a month in Southern California with my in-laws, where he got to go to Marsh Camp and then Surfing camp.

He used to complain when I'd limit his Nintendo DS time...now, it will be weeks between times that he plays because we've shown him that there are so many fun things he can do. I don't need to make any limitations on his playing time because he does it himself. He puts the DS down to read, or asks to go running with me, or pulls out a bunch of hot wheels tracks and makes a hybrid of them.

I've done my best to show him that a balanced life is the best. He saw me lose 160lbs in a year as I made major changes in my lifestyle. He knows that what I am telling him goes for me as well.

[smurray]

It all starts with setting a good example. If you spend all day in front of the Xbox, that is the behavior you model for your kids.

You nailed it on the head with setting a good example. I know the challenge I have is overcoming all the bad habits I have developed over the years. We have two girls, ages 4 and 6, and they watch every move we make. They are the best ones right now at holding me accountable for my actions. When my wife and I trained for the Warrior Dash, we trained in an area that had a playground for the kids. We could alternate our circuit training so that one of us could keep an eye on the kids. Eventually, they wanted to do what mom and dad were doing and had a blast. After the training was completed, they went with us to the Warrior Dash and could see the end result of all the hard work.

[BarefootDawsy]

The unintended side effect of this policy? *I* only get one moderately-sized treat a day! A couple of squares of dark chocolate, or some yogurt with nuts ...

Funny how that seems to happen, isn't it?

[zenmom]

My daughter is an active 13 year old. (we also homeschool) She is a 1st brown belt in karate. She used to be in a dance company but they lost their funding and the program went under. She takes swim lessons and a homeschool gym class where they try different sports. She recently got into hooping, which is great for the core as well as fun. As a family we go on bike rides. She has already decided she is going to be a bike commuter as an adult. My daughter likes to run and walk with me and has participated in several charity 5K. When I joined the local gym, she did too. She has her own trainer who works with her on her goals.

I agree, setting a good example is the best way to teach good diet and fitness habits. I see my daughter making life long fitness goals and that seems to be a direct result of the activites she enjoys now.

[Xenocles]

We model diet for them in what we cook. Since we only prepare one meal for the family, the kids eat what the parents to (or nothing). Our oldest is five, and sometimes we talk to her about the basics of why we make the choices we do.

They're a little too young for the gym, but they know we work out and we're always going out walking with them and they run around and climb at the park. I did teach my daughter to deadlift though - I put a 35 lb kettlebell in front of her on a lark and she picked it up, so I gave her some form pointers. The kids don't really need a formal exercise routine at this age, I think. If they stay active they'll develop their strength as they explore what their bodies can do.