Cold-weather advertisements replete with rosy-cheeked children frolicking in the snow make it look easy, but keeping kids active in the wintertime can be a challenge.
While the first snowfall of the year inevitably inspires snowball fights and sledding, the novelty of the fluffy white stuff can quickly wear off, especially for those of us who don’t live near ski country. So how do you keep the kids from camping out in front of the computer or the TV all winter?
Guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services say that children and adolescents age 6 and older need at least an hour a day of physical activity. Most of the hour should be either moderate or vigorous aerobic activity, mixed with muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activities at least three days a week.
“Look for activities you can participate in together,” advises Dr. John LaCount, a pediatrician with St. Elizabeth Physicians’ Florence office. “When you are participating in an activity with your kids you are supervising and it provides a bonding time for you both.”
Need some suggestions? Here are a few:
Take a hike. Bundle up and explore area parks. The trails are less crowded in the winter months and visibility is better, so you can appreciate the landscape. “Hiking is not just a physical activity, kids have to use their minds to find trail heads and stay on the trails,” LaCount says. Keep the pastime fresh by exploring new places and varying the intensity of the hikes.
Make technology your ally. Find fun games for your Wii or other gaming system that require physical activity, or simply turn on the radio and have an impromptu dance contest. Younger kids will love it – especially if they get to pick the music.
Take a class. Get a group of friends together and sign up for climbing lessons at a rock climbing gym. Sign up for swimming, ice skating, or gymnastics lessons.
“Find what your kids are interested in – karate, taekwondo, swimming – and use it as a fulcrum for maintaining their activity level,” he says.
Find a rec league or open gym. Call your local community center and see what they have to offer. Many communities offer affordable recreational basketball and volleyball leagues in the winter. Ice hockey and indoor soccer are other options. Look for “tumble tots” or ballet lessons for younger children or see if your community offers “open gym” hours during which little ones can have the run of the space. All they need is a playground ball and they’ll be set.
Get involved. Parental involvement can make a snowball fight or an afternoon of sledding a lot more fun and nothing is quite as entertaining as watching Mom and Dad have a go at “Just Dance” on the Wii. Parents have to model the behaviors they want their kids to adopt.
“If they see us sitting on the couch doing nothing but watching TV they are going to do the same thing,” LaCount says.
