Food Sense Nutrition Education - Juab County Extension

Make Family Time Active Time

You might think that the goal for children to be moderately physically active for 60 minutes seems like a lot of time. Life does get in the way, but it doesn't have to.

Make getting more physical activity a family project. Encourage everyone to think of fun things to do to get up and moving, get off the sofas, and away from the screens—especially doing things as a family.

There are hundreds of ways to enjoy physical activity together as a family.

Bike to the library together
Walk or bike to your children's sports events to cheer for them
Have your children come to your sports events and cheer for you
Celebrate special occasions—birthdays, anniversaries—with something active, such as a hike, a volleyball game, or a Frisbee™ match
Train together for a charity walk or run

Keep a family activity log

Encourage everyone in the family to take part and keep up the good work by posting a physical activity log on the refrigerator.

Print out a copy of a sample daily activity log (176K), Download Adobe Reader.

Everyday Physical Activity Tips

Small steps that get your family to move more can help all of you maintain a healthy weight. Choose a different tip each week for you and your family to try. See if you or they can add to the list. Here are a few:

Walk Whenever Possible

Walk instead of drive, whenever you can
Walk your children to school
Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator
Take a family walk after dinner
Replace a Sunday drive with a Sunday walk
Go for a half-hour walk instead of watching TV
Get off the bus a stop early, and walk
Park farther from the store and walk
Make a Saturday morning walk a family habit
Walk briskly in the mall
Take the dog on longer walks
Go up hills instead of around them

Move More in Your Home

Garden, or make home repairs
Do yard work. Get your children to help rake, weed, or plant
Work around the house. Ask your children to help with active chores
Wash the car by hand
Use a snow shovel instead of a snow blower

Live Actively

Join an exercise group, and enroll your children in community sports teams or lessons
Do sit-ups in front of the TV. Have a sit-up competition with your kids
Pace the sidelines at kids' athletic games
Choose an activity that fits into your daily life/lives
Use an exercise video if the weather is bad
Avoid labor-saving devices, such as a remote control or electric mixers
Play with your kids at least 30 minutes a day
Dance to music… with your kids
Choose activities you enjoy. Ask children what activities they want to do
Explore new physical activities
Give yourself a gold star with non-food related rewards, such as a family day at the park, lake, or zoo
Swim with your kids
Buy a set of hand weights and play a round of Simon Says with your kids—you do it with the weights, they do it without

Keep track of tips you’ve tried with http://walking.about.com/library/cal/walkcalendar2012.pdf

Sources: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov and http://walking.about.com