Childhood Obesity: Getting Children to Exercise

Many kids end up hating sports for a variety of reasons, such as a bad experience in the past, not being a good athlete, not being picked by teammates or facing ridicule or criticism by a coach or teammates. Forcing a child to do something he hates is asking for trouble.

Explore with your son what kind of physical activities he IS interested in and encourage and enable him to participate in them. Kids are just like adults—we will keep doing physical activities that we enjoy!

How about just having fun, active play at home? Go on family outings that are physically active. Make family exercise a priority. Go to the park for picnics and take the Frisbee or kickball, or go hiking. Make lifestyle changes by parking far away in parking lots and taking the stairs at stores and businesses. Take family walks after dinner instead of parking yourselves in front of the TV. Every little bit counts!