Tips On How To Get The Whole Family Active

Patrick Mulligan | 6th November 2020

Getting the family moving

Many families are going through a tough time of trying to make sure the kids get their homeschooling done while parents and older kids are navigating working from home. This can lead to the house becoming quite a stressful environment at times. A great way to defuse a stressful situation is by getting up and moving the body. If everyone in the family can get active together it can help to improve relationships and bring the fun back into your day. The World Health Organisation recommends that kids aged 5-17 years get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day while adults should do at least 150-300 minutes of moderate or 75-150 minutes of vigorous physical activity every week. This can all sound a bit overwhelming but if we break it up into a half an hour of a fun activity like dancing or musical chairs and a 30 minute walk, that has us covered for the day.

Keeping it fun

It can sometimes be hard to find the motivation to get moving after a busy day of work and school but if we can tap into the element of fun it will be much easier to start into an activity or game in the evening. Sometimes we can forget that activities such as dancing or playing a game of musical chairs or statues can be just as beneficial as heading out for a run or doing an exercise class. Some ideas for fun games to get the kids moving are:

Musical statues or musical chairs

Dancing

A game of tag or chasing or hide and seek

Hopscotch

Skipping

Setting up an obstacle course in the garden or the living room

Building a den

Put on a play

Playing bowling/Skittles

Making a walk interesting

Sometimes kids can find the idea of going for a walk quite boring. This can make it very difficult for the adults of the house to get out for a walk to de-stress and boost their health. We’ve come up with some ideas to make walking more exciting for your kids:

Bring the bikes or scooters

Make it into a nature walk or “treasure hunt”- give the kids a list of things they need to point out or find along the route

Many GAA pitches have walking tracks around them nowadays- this can be a great chance for the kids to kick around or puck a ball around while you walk around the outside while still being able to keep an eye on them

Practice counting skills- you can get the kids to count their steps between certain landmarks along the walk

If you’re lucky enough to have nature tracks within your 5km you can get the kids exploring these areas and use it as a geography lesson to tie in with home-schooling

Online exercise classes for kids

The online fitness space has really blown up over the last year with gyms and other fitness facilities being closed so there are plenty of options out there for adults but there are also plenty aimed towards toddlers and kids. Here are a few:

Tumbletots on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram- 25 min sessions for kids aged 6 months to 7 years old

PE for babies- activities you can do with your baby up to 12 months old Baby Exercises and Activities App or find them on Youtube

PE with Joe- 30 minute sessions for kids and parents from the Bodycoach Joe Wicks

Cosmic Kids Yoga- a whole YouTube channel of yoga practices that suit kids of all ages

Sports skills

Kids and adults alike have missed out on organised sports and activities over lockdown but this doesn’t mean that we can’t practice the fundamental skills at home. Whether it be GAA, soccer, rugby, gymnastics, dancing or many more, there are a huge amount of resources available to master the skills of these sports and activities.
You could set up a skills station in the back garden or the living room. These types of activities are hugely beneficial to your child’s development in terms of hand-eye co-ordination, balance and muscle and bone growth.

How Can Physiotherapy Help?

If you are finding it hard to complete regular exercises due to pain, fatigue or simply time schedules speak to us at Compass Physio.

Exercise is for everybody. At Compass physio we will complete a full physical assessment and will help identify any possible underlying causes that may limit your exercise regime.

Our chartered physiotherapists will help you to build strength and strategies which will help tackle any problem.

At Compass physio we will help you succeed and reach your goals.

To find out how Compass Physio can help, call 046 954 9456 (this number covers all clinics), click here to book online.

You can also email any questions to info@compassphysio.ie

Paddy Mulligan – MISCP Chartered Physiotherapist Compass Physio