Staying Healthy, Fit, & Active

By Bev Zwick, Physical Education Teacher at Dysart Middle School

Let’s face it, the past few years have really changed how we operate as a family. We were told to stay home and stay apart even from family and friends outside of our house. This has resulted in a change in our family dynamics. At the time of this writing we are almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and we may continue to see the impacts for the foreseeable future. How do we as parents and guardians help our children stay healthy, fit and active during this time? Let’s first look at the definition of healthy:

• Physical and mental well-being; freedom from disease or pain.

• Soundness, especially of body or mind.

• A condition of optimal well-being.

Why is it important for parents and guardians to develop this in our children? There are many reasons to be healthy. The top ones include: you can live longer, feel better about yourself, and build your self esteem. And of course, you will be leading by example! The pandemic has increased screen time for our children more than ever before. Prepandemic, students were way more active. They got out and played with their friends. Now it takes a lot of motivation to get our children up and moving. This can start at home. There are many benefits of working toward being healthy, fit and active. If you are regularly physically active, you may improve academic performance and concentration, improve “brain health” and reduce the risk of depression, improve muscular and bone strength, strengthen your heart and lungs, maintain a healthy weight, and reduce the risk of some chronic diseases

WOW! These are all great reasons to implement this lifestyle change at home. How do we get started? First of all, you want to establish some “norms” or expectations. It’s important to have an open mind. Everyone in the house MUST participate. Everyone should get to share or have his/her turn to speak and comment. Remember to be a respectful listener. Everyone should agree on how decisions will be made. After that it’s time to make a plan. Be intentional and write the plan down, adding the dates to the calendar. Start small and build on it. It’s okay if your plan doesn’t work, but don’t give up. “If at first you don’t succeed, try again!” Also be consistent – if what you planned isn’t working, revisit to make a new plan you can actually implement.

I would start with a family meeting. Let the family know what you have in mind. Get input from everyone. What do they want to do together–make family meals? Do family activities? Once you decide this, talk through what this will look like. Are you going to plan and cook healthy family meals two times a week (remember–start small and build on it)? When you do this, set some ground rules. No devices - this is family time. Research what should be included in a healthy meal. The USDA My Food Plate is a great resource for this. Actually sit down at the dinner table together at meals and talk about the day. Remember to focus on the speaker. Ask open ended questions that need more than a yes or no answer. Make sure everyone shares. This will help your child(ren) feel special. It will help build stronger relationships. The more you do this, the more they will know that they “HAVE to share”, so in time, you won’t need to ask many questions. It will start to come naturally. Some ideas may include: Tell me about the best part of your day, what was the hardest thing you had to do today, what’s the most interesting thing you learned today, or who did you play with today?

Now it’s time to get active! Remember, get input from the family, so they have “buy-in.” Don’t forget the expectation that EVERYONE in the family must participate. You will also need to get creative. An easy way to start is to go for a walk, bike ride, or scooter ride as a family. If your children say, “I just want to play video games,” show them the Fortnight Dance Challenge on YouTube and try it for yourselves. Branch out from this. Is there room in the backyard or neighborhood park? Can you kick a soccer ball around together, play a game of tag, or play catch with some type of ball or Frisbee? Can you make up silly relay races or games? Do you have limited space? How about jumping rope in the driveway or making a “Hopscotch” pattern with chalk.

Once this becomes your new norm, research other activities to do as a family. Remember your “expectation” of being open-minded. Try new activities and if someone dislikes it, have that person help pick something new and different. Bonus points if your family has a step tracker device or app on their phone to track your steps, minutes active and calories burned.

The pandemic has truly changed how we interact with each other, so now let’s turn it into something positive. Let’s spend quality family time together. Let’s work together to build positive relationships and get healthy and active!

Backyard Obstacle Course

1. Gather a variety of items and create an obstacle course in your backyard or neighborhood park. Look for items around the house. You can lay hula-hoops on the ground and hop to each one, crawl the length of a jump rope, hop over a sturdy crate, box or stool, and throw a ball into a basketball hoop or container.

2. Be creative and have your kids create their own action or activity in the obstacle course.

3. Time each family member as they complete the entire course.

4. Log your peak performance time in a chart and make it a goal for the next obstacle course.

Indoor or Outdoor Circuit

I am all for circuit training! Involve the kids in creating a circuit of activities outdoors or inside on hot days in Arizona. 1. Find space to do each exercise. 2. Incorporate stations like hula-hoop, jumping jacks, jump rope, bear crawl, crab-walk, sit ups, push ups, plank position, shoulder taps, wall-sits, etc.

3. Modify each step in the circuit based on age or ability.

4. Have each member of the family pick their exercise to add to the circuit by writing/drawing it down on a piece of paper.

5. Use a stopwatch/timer and set up everyone at their first station.

6. Do each exercise for one minute, and then use ten seconds to transition to the next exercise.

7. You may want to keep track of the exercises you do and how many you were able to do. Can you do more next time? Set a goal and celebrate successes.

8. Finally, discuss the muscles utilized with each of the exercises.