Take a Hike – Family-Friendly Walking Tips
A lot of emphasis is being placed on family fitness these days, and getting together for a walk or hike is a popular way to get everybody out and moving. Get on board with your family! Here are some tips… Continue reading
Stress-Busting Tips for Teens
Stress itself is a person’s reaction to life changes, and there is hardly a time in one’s life with more changes than the teen years! Added on to all these life changes is the fact that there is a lot going on in the life of the average teen – concerns about appearance, extracurricular activities, friends, school projects, social events, and so forth can all converge on teens at once. Here are some tips for parents to share with their teens.
Deep Breathing Really? Just breathing deeply makes everything go away? Not exactly! But deliberate, slow, deep breathing exercises can significantly increase your body’s coping mechanisms, sources say. This is why deep breathing is so often a component of meditation.
Outdoor Winter Activities for the Whole Family
Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean the outdoor activities have to stop! Help the family stay fit and have fun with winter activities for the whole family this season. Here are some ideas.
Sledding/Coasting/Tubing Whatever you call it, sliding downhill in the snow is fun for all ages. You can use inexpensive plastic snow disks, toboggans, inner tubes, or just plastic bags. You can do this in your own neighborhood, or go to a local park. Make sure you bundle up and dress in layers, and wear heavy boots.
How to Inspire Kids to Embrace Exercise
As a parent, you want what’s best for your children. You want them to be healthy and happy. One way to ensure they’re healthy is to inspire them to embrace exercise. If they learn to love to exercise as a child, they’ll be more likely to continue into adulthood.
Very young children seem to be a ball of perpetual motion. However, the older they get the less likely they are to stay active. Part of the reason children aren’t as active when they are growing up is that schools don’t stress physical education the way they once did. Parents also don’t feel allowing their child to play in the neighborhood is as safe as it once was.
How to Shape Up Your Family This Summer
It can be fun to get into shape over the summer. Some say it’s easier because the weather just seems to coax everyone outdoors and into fun activities. If you want to shape up your family this summer, here are some ideas.
Water Sports – A Great Way to Get the Whole Family Active This Summer
As research and experience shows more and more that we need more exercise, emphasis is being placed on incorporating physical activity into our leisure time. Summer is a great time to get your whole family off the couch and into… Continue reading
Family Fun Runs – A Great Day Out for the Whole Family
Staying active is important for remaining healthy. One way to ensure your family stays healthy is by participating in family fun runs. They’re a great day out for the whole family.
Some people aren’t that familiar with fun runs. Fun runs are set up over a one to five mile course. Rather than racing against other runners, they are often set up as a means to raise funds for a community charity.
Quite often fun runs coincide with holidays. You may have heard of the St. Patrick’s Day fun run, Fourth of July fun run, or even the Santa’s fun run. Look in your local newspaper to see if there are fun runs planned in your area. Another place to look would be at the community recreation center. School athletic instructors or coaches may also learn of fun runs your family can participate in.
Having the Puberty Talk
Puberty is one of the most dramatic periods a person undergoes in his life. It is the transition from childhood to adulthood. Our bodies go through physical changes and our minds undergo an incredible transformation. Some parents dread this phase in their children because their dependent child is now becoming a young independent adult. Aside from the physical changes, the emotional changes are the most difficult. The more we understand as parents the better we are equipped to manage this challenging period and brings on greater opportunities to develop a trusting close relationship.
Boys and girls go through puberty on different times; in general girls start puberty earlier than boys. Girls start puberty between 8 and 13 years of age and boys start between 10 to 14 years of age. The main thing that pre-teens notice in elementary middle school is that girls go through a growth spurt and all of the sudden they are much taller than boys their age. Other more dramatic changes occur that are not obviously seen in the early stages of puberty.
Why Sports Are Great for Teens and How to Get Started
Teens get involved in a lot of things in high school. Some are involved in clubs and others are part of the band. There are many reasons why sports are great for teens and here’s how they can get started.
One of the biggest benefits for teens to be involved in sports is that it keeps them active. Some teens would be content to play video games or watch television all the time they’re at home. If a teen spends all their waking time being inactive they could gain weight and become unhealthy. Being a part of a sports team will help them burn calories and build muscle tone so they will remain healthier.
Being on a sports team will most likely encourage your teen to stay hydrated. High school coaches are going to do their best to keep their team members healthy. This means they might explain how to eat healthy, and the importance of drinking milk to get enough calcium which is necessary for healthy bones.
Yoga and Martial Arts
In my practice I am often asked about exercise for kids and teens. What age is exercise appropriate and what type of exercise is ideal for each age group. This seems to be a recent phenomenon since previous generations children… Continue reading
