Stimulate Your Kids to Stay Fit

Working out is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. If you don’t make time for exercise, you will have to make time for illness. However, this 2018 study reveals that the majority of Indonesians exercise less than two hours per week. According to this Jakarta Post article, only 5% of the children in Jakarta are physically fit. Kids spend too much time behind television, computer, phone, and electronic screens.

Being unfit increases the chances of cardiovascular and chronic diseases, as well as psychological disorders. But how can you motivate children to exercise more often? We have enlisted 10 tips on how to make your children more physically active.

1. Be a role model

This is an obvious one, yet many parents forget it. Your kids mimic your behaviour so if you are a good example and exercise quite often, they will take over this healthy habit. Try to involve the whole family for maximum effects.

2. Walk/bike as much as possible

Whenever you and your children need to go somewhere close by, try to walk or bike to that destination. Not only is it good for the health of you and your kids, but it’s also beneficial to the environment.

3. Limit television, computer, and mobile phones

Although we believe that learning digital skills is an essential part of a child’s education, you may want to limit the time they spend on screens. Digital detox becomes more and more important to developing social skills as children grow and develop. Show them that there are other things to enjoy themselves in life, like playing outside with friends.

“If you don’t make time for exercise, you will have to make time for illness.” – Confucius 

4. Involve your kids in household activities

Have your children mow the lawn or help clean the house. It’s an easy way to get them physically active and teach them discipline at the same time.

5. Link sports with fun

Kids like to have fun. If you can make physical activities joyful and amusing, it’s more likely that they will continue to exercise in the future. Pick a sport they genuinely like, play some music while working out, or make a competition out of it with prizes. Gamify the activity and kids’ interest levels spike.

6. Include others

If you make exercise a social activity, kids will enjoy sports even more. Invite your child’s friends to join you. The social factor of exercise is a crucial factor for maintaining the habit.

7. Give sport-related gifts

When it’s your child’s birthday or when there is a holiday, try to give them a gift that encourages exercise. Examples of this include bikes, sporting clothes or shoes, tennis or badminton rackets, etc.

Start using these tips today to encourage your children to exercise more often. It’s important to guide them, not force them. If you keep working out fun, they will initiate sport spontaneously. This way, you can help them live a healthier life. 

Singapore International School implements sports in its curriculum. We also encourage students to take on extracurricular activities such as badminton or football.

Do you want to make sure your children adopt a healthy lifestyle in their school? Enrol them now in one of the Singapore International Schools!

1 Statista Research Department. (2018 16). Indonesia – number of hours spent on exercise/participating in sport activities 2016-2018. Retrieved March 26, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/562524/indonesia-number-of-hours-spent-on-exercise-participating-in-sport-activities/

2 The Jakarta Post. (2018, October 17). Only 5 percent of Jakarta’s children physically fit.. Retrieved March 26, 2020, from https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/10/17/only-5-percent-of-jakartas-children-physically-fit-says-official.html

3 Singapore International School. (2018, November 7). Enrol Now. Retrieved March 26, 2020, from https://sisschools.org/enrol-now