Don’t Let Your Child Become a Summer Couch Potato
The percentage of children aged six to 12 who were physically active three or more times a week had its biggest drop in five years and is now under 25%, according to new data. With the laziest time of year for kids (summer break) upon us, have you thought about how your kids will stay busy as the temperatures go up?
There are an estimated 15 million summer-time latchkey kids (ages 5-12 who stay home alone) in the U.S. and you’d think that these kids would naturally be drawn to visiting the local pool or running around outside with friends. Instead, they use the summer to sit around and engage in obesity-related behaviors like watching TV, playing video games, eating sugar snacks and fewer vegetables according to a study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
To help combat this problem, just about every professional sports organization has launched a campaign to promote healthy kids. But what if you can’t connect with one of them or live in an area where these programs don’t exist?
Parents can take control of the situation and use the tips below to put a plan in place that will keep kids active all summer long, make things easier on parents and cut down on that phrase parents dread to hear, “I’m bored”.
1. Communicate Your Expectations
Sit down with you kids and lay out a plan, as well as, what you expect. Clearly older kids will have more responsibility but that doesn't mean the little ones get off easy.
2. Schools Out For Summer, No Laying Around
Kids need to be active everyday so don't leave home projects, chores or personal activities for the weekends. Make sure there are a handful of projects to be completed everyday, including ones that help you like fixing dinner, doing dishes or laundry.
3. Build a "Busy Calendar" For The Kids
Use a tool like BusyKid that can be your “Busy Calendar”. Each day kids can see what needs to be done and can click projects/activities one at a time. This will help teach them responsibility, accountability and time management.
4. Assign By Strengths
Different kids are good at different things. Maybe one of your kids hates doing things outside. Maybe another loves the sunshine and fresh air. Besides assigning things by age, look at what they like doing and build the calendar from there.
5. Find Balance
Make sure the "Busy Calendar" has a good balance of chores and fun. For every hour of chores, try to have one hour of another activity where your kids can enjoy themselves. After all, it’s their summer too.
6. Step It Off
If your child has a mobile phone, chances are it comes with a health app that can count steps. If it doesn't, there are plenty available. Add one and have a weekly contest to see who puts in the most miles.
7. Reward Success
If all goes according to your plan, your kids will be moving around a bunch this summer and plenty of projects will be done. Make sure to reward them for working hard or staying with the plan. Paying an allowance is a great way to reward your kids and using BusyKid will help them learn how to save, spend and invest it wisely.
The co-founder & CEO of BusyKid, Gregg is best known as groundbreaking inventor of My Job Chart which grew to nearly 1 million members in four years. My Job Chart was the first electronic chore/allowance platform to take advantage of our modern digital society. A father of six, Gregg is a certified financial planner and consultant who also became a leading advocate for sound parenting, child accountability and financial literacy. In 2014, he was named Chairman of 2014 “Smart Money Week” for the state of Arizona, as well as, the National Financial Educators Council Financial Education Instructor of the Year. A firm believer in improved financial education in schools, Gregg has conducted hundreds of media interviews around the U.S. in hopes of much needed change. Promoting these changes, Gregg took his family on a pair of RV trips in 2014 and traveled nearly 10,000 miles in just 31 days. When the trips were complete, the family had stopped in 22 different cities in 27 states and performed normal household chores for families in need and organizations requesting volunteers. Gregg is considered a pillar of his Arizona community and is regularly attending his kids sporting events or taking them on weekend camping trips.
