The less physically active a mother is, the more likely it is that her child will be sedentary in early life, according to research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In a lot of cases, this leads to being sedentary in later life, too. Not only does working out encourage your child to lead a healthier lifestyle, but it can also be a lot of fun for mother and child to work out together.
The more a mother exercises, the more their child does
The Southampton Women’s Survey had 554 mothers with their 4-year olds as participants. All wore devices that measured their heart rate and body movement. Researchers found a direct correlation between physical activity levels in mothers and their children. When mothers made exercising a priority, children were more likely to move more too. While this is great news, only 53% of mothers actually met the 30 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity recommendations, so more still needs to be done.
Home-based exercises that can be done together
Exercising at home is great as your child can join in and can see you prioritize your health. Equipment can be expensive but well worth it if you intend to use it regularly, plus, it helps your child get used to working out this way. There’s no reason why they can’t have a go on a treadmill or exercise bike, as long as you’re supervising them. [Have a look on homefitnessjourney.com for information on the best treadmills and other equipment that can be used at home to get an idea of what will suit you and your family.] Alternatively, you can simply follow workout videos online that you and your children can all join in with. There’s plenty of parents who are also fitness gurus that post videos of them and their kids, from gentle yoga exercises to dancing around their living room together.
Get active outside of the home
There are countless ways to enjoy exercising and moving more outside of the home that kids will love. Playing in a pool is fun and children will love going to soft play sessions, just make sure that you’re chasing them around so that you’re moving too. Even going to the park or playing with them in the garden will get you more active. Check out what’s going on locally, particularly when children are off school, as you may find community sports sessions going on, such as football, tennis, and rollerskating, where both parents and children can join in.
The more active parents are, especially mothers, the more likely children will be, leading to healthy lifestyles as they get older. Get your children to join in with your workouts so that they can see you’re prioritizing it.
