Article from: My Family UK
Spending time together as a family and sharing activities is both fun and rewarding. You don’t have to travel far to spend time together and get fit. Remember itâ??s not always easy for children to get outdoors, so they may need your encouragement and company. Here are some tips for things to do together:
1) The local park
Whether you want to have a kick-about with Dad, or ride the bike with Mum, the beauty of the park is that they can be used in any way and they are free.
Think of playgrounds as gyms for your children. A healthy child is strong and flexible and this comes with climbing, and it also teaches them to work with others. Kids are naturally active given the opportunity, and playing is second nature, so don’t worry or fuss over them.
2) Go for a walk
The Department of Health recommends walking 10,000 steps a day, so try walking to school and the shops when you can. When you have to take the car, try parking further away. At work or when shopping, take the stairs. If the family needs some encouragement, buy cheap pedometers for everyone and set them targets.
Walking the dog is one of the best ways to bond and be active: it really can be that simple. If you’ve got time to kill, go out to one of the UKâ??s 14 National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and take the kids too. When the children are having this much fun, they wonâ??t even realise theyâ??re exercising.
3) Get on your bike
Cycling is easy and exciting, and always a good way of getting outdoors as a family. You can go on cycling holidays or around the roads near you, but best of all is cycling to and from school, which is good for the environment as well.
4) The local leisure centre
Swimming is a healthy form of exercise and an essential skill to learn. Leisure centres often have numerous pool areas for varying ages and abilities. Learning to swim with Mum and Dad is a stress-free way for children and rewarding for you, in all senses. Some pools have wave machines, rapids or water slides, which provide incentives to go and treats for hard work.
The advantage of a leisure centre is the freedom and choice on offer. While the rest of the family swim, you can relax with yoga or make new friends playing volleyball or tennis. They’re open all year round, so it’s worth finding your local.
5) Around the house
In the garden, a vigorous session of bending, weeding, pulling and lifting is really beneficial to you and your childâ??s strength and flexibility. Just make sure you get a little sweaty and out of puff. Going for 10 minutess can burn up to 53 calories.
If you have a car, save money and wash it by hand: something that the kids will love. Completing everything can last over an hour, so itâ??s a good cardiovascular workout.
Further Information
For further information, and for more great ways to have fun with your family, log on to www.myfamilyuk.com. With a huge collection of articles covering everything from child safety to rainy day activities, you’ll find all the help, guidance and entertainment you need to be a great parent.
Archive for the ‘Outdoor Kids Activities’ Category
Get Kids Active Outdoors – Easily!
Saturday, March 12th, 2011Outdoor Kids Playhouse
Thursday, December 9th, 2010Playhouses Outdoor Playhouse
A small outdoor clubhouse is something, I believe we all wanted at some point in our lives, with all the sheds options and accessories. All of the extra energy our children have we have to bear in mind, their often demanding, and very exhausting to keep them entertained all the time. It is valuable for them to keep fit as they development and grow. But many parents struggle to acquire time to do this as, work commitments or money constraints. This probably hinders their children not to play or puts them in day care situation where there is no or not a lot of outdoor exercise. A straightforward answer and one that is new and better liked; create a playground for your child in your own garden behind your residence. Playground equipment such as slides, swings and sand boxes are very well liked, but
the favorite apparatus for the majority parents are the wooden playhouse. These are fantastic for your children, and can be hours upon hours of education, imagination, and engaging in recreation in a safe secure building environment, with tremendous amounts of fun. Bearing in mind having a Luxury Childrens Playhouse in your backyard, parents can have impressive piece of mind with the purpose of their child is in a safe place somewhere they can keep a watchful eye on themes they play happily on their own or with friends. A playhouse is in a dungeon; a hide out, a castle or whatever your child’s imagination will come up with.
Placement & Decor
Wooden playhouses offer fantastic worth for your money, as it may stand the test of time for many years with very little attention. A high-quality wooden house should always be planed out where it should be placed, because this is going to be a semi removable wooden house, or it should be. The symmetry of existing buildings is probably a good start in most cases, in other words parallel with the house. You might decide to go with the property line or you might have another factor that will determine a better aesthetic outcome. They can be painted to your child’s needs and trends. You may well not have the “extra” space in your home, for all the toys and now they can be kept in the small outdoor clubhouse. A good Idea if it is possible, and if you can go with the décor of you house, use complimentary colors of the residential house into the playhouse. Sometimes people like to have those distinctive playhouses were the playhouse mimic an actual house design, without the actual wooden house size. You can almost get anything you want in terms of the same as a actual house, for example you can even get a four panel overlay door for these playhouses. I say this because I want to illustrate how fancy they can get, but most people don’t care about this. These houses a lot of the time comes as pre-fabricated wooden houses, for your convenience, which is nice and easy.
Playhouse Themes
I know sometimes that is not possible because of the theme they want to use in their wooden playhouse people might go for; for example if you are going for a Disney theme instead of the bungalow playhouses, chances are its not going to mesh with your homes color scheme. Swings, ladder, and children’s play areas can always wait, but are never the less important to your child’s development. She/he learns and develops to climb, grasp, coordination, balance, fun, and more. They can also be easily added later on. Child Development. A lot of brilliant memories that will last a life time that will last into adulthood, and will be past down to their children. Maybe their children’s children will have the opportunity to make brilliant memories at the same place if they’re fortunate enough. This type of activity is a sure breath of fresh air if you
compare it to all the video games, television, and related type devices that occupy our youth today. The adventure that a wooden outdoor playhouse gives; only makes their creative side come alive through acting and improvising creative scenes. They might have a tea party, play dolls, and pretend to build, have a little picnic, or have a little birthday party. These are a few examples of creative growth for their future development.
Playhouse
The best part about this is they play in a safe, secure environment, and where the parents can rest at ease. Their child is getting fresh air, exercise, and the use of their imagination, and it’s all because of the construction of children’s Playhouses . When you put the packages together yourself it becomes an economical children’s playhouse, for the kids, and by the way I helped put two of them together. Their not hard to put it together, and you should be able to put it up in a day or less, assuming its a pre-fab. You can also option out and buy a print (E, C, B sizes); and build it yourself to try saving money. Make sure you do your math before you do this option! Please, If you have time; see my photo blog, you will get a very good idea what is out there, and I think you`ll enjoy them. Check out some of the Amazing Playhouses! Click Below!
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Getting Kids Active and off the Couch
Friday, November 12th, 2010Summertime is just around the corner and if your kids are not going to camp, its really easy to let them veg in front of the TV, handheld gaming device and PC for endless hours. Children have become dependent on technology for entertainment. Many kids can’t ride their bikes around the block without needing a 30 minute break! We should worry that kids are losing out on the beauty of the outdoors or what it’s like to have more activity than lifting a TV remote or typing on a keyboard.
According to Parentstv.org the average American child spends almost 30 hours a week watching TV and over 54% of children have their own television in their room. Another study by the National Youth Prevention Resource Center said that over 74% of kids and teens spend at least one hour a day on video games and 3 hours a day on the computer/online. These statistics are staggering when you actually think about them for a moment. The majority of a child’s day is spent in front of a screen and even more so during the summertime when kids are free for three whole months. Now there is nothing wrong with television, computer or video games as long as they are done in moderation. So how does a parent get their child off the couch and getting some physical activity?
Here are a few helpful tips to unglue your child from the screen.First step is to lay down some ground rules for television, video games or internet time. Allow only a certain amount of hours per day for each specific one. Moderate a child’s intake of television, computer and internet as well as what they are watching and doing. One great way to get your kids to be active is to plan family outings. You could have an afternoon picnic, a hike, a bike ride through the park, a trip to a local museum or bonfire at the beach. The ideas are endless but the key is to get out of the house and have fun as a family. One great idea is to have a pool party for you kids and their friends. This way they can have fun with their friends without technology.
As a parent you should always set an example for your child. Therefore you have to be as active as you want your children to be. Even if this means a short walk after dinner together it could make all the difference. Teaching your child a new hobby is a great way to get your kids off the couch as well. You can teach them how to cook their favorite recipe, knit or sow, ride a skate board or scrapbook your favorite family photos. These ideas can be great to grow stronger bonds within a family while stimulating a child’s mind without technology. Another great idea could be instead of buying your kid another DVD or videogame get them something that will help promote activity. A great outdoor toy is the Plasma Car. This unique vehicle is unlike anything you’ve seen before. The Plasma Car uses the natural forces of inertia, centrifugal force, gravity, and friction to move. All you do is just rotate the steering wheel left and right and you gain momentum. It’s almost like a segway for kids. Another great product to help kids get active is the California Chariot by Marky Sparky. This product takes the best aspects of riding a bike, skateboard and rollerblades and combines it all in one. The front consists of a bike wheel with bike handlebars but the back is two skateboard like planks that you stand on. This unique product will make any kid want to hope on and go for a spin! Hopefully with these tips and these products you can help your child put down the remote and become more active and have fun doing it.