Getting your family to move more and sit less is one of the greatest acts of love—right up there with cooking their favorite meals and not changing the Wi-Fi password! Imagine creating lifelong habits of physical activity that lead to healthier, happier families (and maybe even add a few extra years to annoy each other). Now, that’s a legacy worth leaving!
We need parents who are just as passionate about raising a healthy generation as they are about their careers—because let’s be real, no one’s last words will be, “I wish I had spent more time at work or on emails.” Relationships matter more than job titles, don’t they?
Coach Philip.
But what if your family treats the couch like a second home? How do you inspire them to swap screen time for sweat time—especially when you’re struggling to stay consistent yourself? If you’ve ever felt like the lone fitness enthusiast in a house full of professional loungers, don’t worry—I’ve got you covered!
Focus on Fun
When you love someone, you want the best for them—including good health. But let’s be honest, your spouse and kids might not share your enthusiasm for jumping jacks. Nagging? That’ll just make the couch even more appealing. Instead, show them that moving is way more fun than binge-watching another TV series.
How? Appeal to their sense of adventure! Have a family dance-off (bonus points if Dad has two left feet), hit the playground, go hiking, or turn chores into games. Even simple things—like racing to put away groceries—can get everyone moving.
Water play: On hot days, break out the sprinklers, water balloons, or a good old-fashioned car wash (kids love spraying YOU more than the car). The messier, the better! Make fitness fun, and you’ll be surprised who joins in—even the family pet might get involved!
Share the Benefits of Being Active
Getting the whole family moving is much easier when both parents are on board. Have a quick chat with your spouse about why it’s important—because the benefits are huge! Regular activity lowers the risk of diseases like diabetes and heart issues, keeps everyone energized for fun adventures (think hiking, biking, or camping), and helps kids build a lifelong habit of staying active. Plus, it boosts brain power, improves mood, and even protects against age-related memory loss. And let’s be real—who wouldn’t want kids with more focus and better attitudes? Sounds like a win for everyone!
Adults and children alike benefit from active play and unstructured time for recreation, discovery, and enjoyment. Whether or not you have a lawn, provide equipment and resources, such as balls, jump ropes, badminton racquets, hula hoop, frisbees or playground equipment like the trampoline and bikes to encourage movement.
Encourage Active Play.
Make physical activity a family activity by going on hikes, bike rides, swimming or playing group sports together. Provide opportunities for free play and imaginative movement such as dance parties, hide and seek, tag games, obstacle courses, and treasure hunt. You may also want to piece together bouts of exercise. Remember that any movement is better than no movement at all.
Go on nature walks: Take kids on a nature walk and encourage them to explore the outdoors. This can be a great way to get them moving and to teach them about nature. Ask them to look out for bugs, insects, trees, flowers as they commune with nature. Get them a pet. Pets improve our mood, so does exercise. The good news is that you don’t need a fancy gymnasium or organized sports to get kids active. Be creative.
Limit Screen Time.
Prolonged screen time has been linked to an increased risk of developing serious medical problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, even if exercise is involved. Most of our children have television sets in their bedrooms. Don’t your kids have smart phones as well? How many hours do your kids spend in front of the screen? Schools too, tend to focus a lot more on the academics and very little towards sports and the physical wellbeing of their learners.
Experts recommend limiting screen time to 2 hours a day or less outside of work or homework; and that applies to grown-ups too. Get them a coach for their favorite sport if you can and build a future Olympian. Maybe, all parents need to take a non-negotiable stand. Taking a shower is not optional, why should regular exercise be?
Be a Role Model
Parents are powerful role models. Chances are that when your kids see you having fun working out, they’ll want to join you. The reality is that some of us parents, spend even more times on our phones and gadgets than our kids do. How then do we help our kids to stay active?
Be healthy and positive for your children. Set a good example by prioritizing physical activity and leading an active lifestyle. Set achievable goals and celebrate progress and milestones. Also don’t forget to teach and to involve them in the house chores. Guide them to embrace healthy nutritional behaviors as well. Encourage children to participate in organized sports or physical activities at school or in the community.
Sign Them up In a Sport.
Sign your kids up for group sports like soccer, swimming, or tennis—because let’s face it, they have way more energy than your furniture can handle! Celebrate their efforts with high-fives, cheers, and maybe even a victory dance (embarrassing parent moves encouraged). Fitness isn’t just for grown-ups—it’s a lifelong gift we can give our kids from the start. So, let’s raise a generation that thinks burpees are fun (or at least tolerable) and believes family time is best spent moving, not just scrolling. Together, we can build stronger, healthier, and way more active families!