Set an example for your kids.

Childhood obesity is surely an epidemic. We see news information about it all of the time and we see evidence of it every day once we walk along the street, go into our neighborhood shops or pick up our kids from school. It’s just about criminal to allow our youngsters to vegetate in front of the Television set eating packets of crisps and chocolate until dinner time. For people that can be bothered to cook and not “take away”, dinner can be well beyond 7pm providing very little time for any little ones to digest their meals just before bed. Why is it so difficult to motivate oneself and your children to wise behaviour? Well, let’s break it down. Morning – the children don’t wish to get up. They’re tired, don’t wish to consume breakfast and your stress levels rise. You travel to work – by car or truck, train, bus, cycle, walk. Whichever your selected kind of transport getting around is not straightforward. Traffic, traffic fumes, bad weather, inconsiderate road users. STRESS You work.... hard. Even if you are sat at a desk your brain is always active. By the end of the working day you finish up the same way – exhausted, and you’ve still got to get home. Evening – You would like time to wind down. Therefore you give in to the children in order to get some head space. And the routine starts over once more. We place ourselves under a great deal of strain all through our working week. We don’t intend to nevertheless it’s a fact of daily life. Most men and women live hectic, stressful lives and when it comes to reducing stress inside the family, giving in to the children is an easy decision. But what is the alternative. Time and money are in short supply for many of us. But it’s a known fact that exercising can lower stress levels. As soon as the weather is good, get outside. Take the youngsters for a bike ride or stroll to the shops rather than using the car. You could possibly head over to the health club but if we're to set an example for the kids, we need to allow them see what we're doing. Purchase some home gym equipment, there are even treadmills suitable for kids, and working with cardiovascular exercise equipment on a regular basis will ensure you are around for a good few years to see the children grow up. Prepare your week more effectively. Communicate with those close to you to let them know what your plans are. Prepare some family physical exercise routines. If you can, have a workout night in your house, let the youngsters get interested. Give them workout routines to do that mimic what you are doing. Make it fun and family focussed. There's loads of cheap exercise equipment available that you and the children could use for example buying skipping ropes, gym ball exercise equipment or mini stepper units. And finally – breathe. Take big deep lung filling breaths. Your body demands oxygen and a couple of deep breaths every single morning will set you up for the day. When we were small, we didn’t have countless numbers of alternative Television channels, video games and social mass media. We went out to see our friends, and in doing so exercised – we played in the park or even the road and rode our bikes. We are living in a very different world now and our kids don’t do the things we did as youngsters, so make changes that fit the world we live in. Find chances to improve your health and fitness and in doing so, set an example for the children.

lead by example