Blog
Running as Great Kid Fitness Activity
Parents know that active kids are healthier than non-active kids, and the medical experts agree. These days difficult for children to get enough physical activity these days, between a cut in physical education programs, packed school schedules, tv and the internet. For many kids, a team sport can be a great way to get exercise , not every kid or family has the temperament, skills or money to be team player. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t promote kids fitness at home through the simple sport of running .
Running as a kids fitness exercise has benefits and risks While running can be a great exercise for adults, since our bodies are generally stronger with denser bones. Kids however have a differnt physiology and while there are significant benefits to running as an exercise, they are some risks.
Risks to Kids Running
Like any exercise your kids participate in, running should be supervised . If you’re not a runner yourself, you may want to take the sport up with your kids and learn about it together.
You will want to make sure that your child isn’t overdoing it with running and hurting themselves. First off, never allow kids to exercise without stretching first. Once they have properly stretched, pace their run with a warm-up period, a running period and a cool-down period. Work on their distances starting slow and short and working up to longer and longer periods.
And d on’t forget consulting with your doctor before staring any kids fitness exercise to ensure that its appropriate for your child’s health condition.
Kids Exercise Benefits
Luckily, running is one of those activities kids often do solo , without much encouragement from their parents. However running around the yard is very different than taking up the sport of running as an organized fitness activity. be prepared to invest in some decent running sneakers for your kids if they start to take running seriously.
Running is also a excellent foundation for training for other sports, or it can become a sport in and of itself, like track or cross-country . Your kid could also get interested in doing local 3k and 5k running races with you as ways to have fun and add some competition to the activity.
The great thing about running is that it’s a kids fitness activity that can be done solo or together. A life-long love of running is a great way to impart healthy living skills to your children.