We are with our kids 24/7 these days and quarantine life has us going crazy. Let me guess. The first couple of weeks were great. You turned to Pinterest, grabbed a couple of easy arts and crafts and called it a day.
Then schools introduced distance learning, social media influencers started sharing their wealth of knowledge, and you became frazzled by the volume of notifications pinging your phone and email.
Me too mama. Me too!
We had ice cream for lunch last week and I take deep pride in the artwork that is also known as a laundry pile. Squint yo. It’s art!
But our kids need us now more than ever. They need us to be more than an example of movement, we need to be the teacher of movement. The facilitator.
Kids need movement for all the same reasons we need movement and so much more! We need movement for mental health but kids still haven’t learned how to process emotions and that can be scary.
Movement will help kids process this scary, frustrating, and unknown time.
So how do we encourage movement? Because we don’t want them resenting it, or resenting their bodies. We have to be diligent about their physical and mental health.
So here are my 3 tips for encouraging movement with kids.
Movement in the outdoors…I don’t know about you but my kids don’t do well indoors. They get in each other’s space, they fight, and they ask me for snacks every 30 minutes. Getting outside has so many benefits, one of them being movement. Explore a walking path, explore your backyard, explore nature. Remember the movie Wall-E? All of a sudden the screen was removed from their view and the people were amazed at what they saw…a pool…the stars. We have been given this gift too. Explore together!
Movement through learning…You’ve become the teacher and your sitting there wondering how teachers do it. I know, me too! THEY. ARE. AMAZING. And let me tell you trophies need to get handed out. But something to remember, your kid is not sitting at a desk all day when they are at school. Don’t make them do this with distance learning either! Practicing sight words? Lay flashcards out on the stairs and if they get it right they get to keep going. You can do this with counting too for those younger kiddos with LOTS of energy.
Movement through play… Guys, we forget just how much movement our kids get through play. But some of our kiddos may have forgotten the joy that comes from their imaginations. So often our kids are tired. Tired from school, from activities, from all. the. things. We are so used to “busy” and I feel like our imaginations haven’t been exercised in a while. Give your kiddo a nudge, an idea. Spark something and watch them go wild! This week we pretended to go to the grocery store and shop.
Yes. Things are getting weird. And that’s OK!
If you are looking for more ideas for movement with kids I have a course dedicated to just that! Simply Kids – Fitness. It’s not about losing weight and all about moving our bodies!
And always remember…
YOU ARE NEVER TOO MUCH
AND ALWAYS ENOUGH!
MY LIGHT AND LOVE SEES
AND NEVER COMPARES
THE LIGHT AND LOVE
WITHIN YOU!
