I believe that setting a good fitness example to my children encourages them to be into sports as much as me. Me and my husband (when his work allows) are very sporty, and when we met years ago while living in Sydney we used to do so many sport activities together that I knew that it should not be a problem to continue one day when we have kids.
Getting your children involved in sport activities you love doing is just another way of bonding as a family. We often go swimming, cycling, skiing and recently my older daughter has also shown interest in running. She has seen me training for all my running and swimming challenges, and I love it when she says she wants to be like me one day.
- lead by an example
- choose a sport both you & your children will love
- make it a habit
- make it fun
Last summer just before the school broke up she decided she wanted to take part in a local running charity event at Moor Park 10km. I was all over the moon. Until that day I did not ask her to be running with me as I really did not want to push her into running, but she really wanted to do so, so we signed up. During the summer school holidays we trained together, and I realised she is a talent and could be very good at running one day.
At the end of September we took part in the challenge. the only shame was that originally I thought we would be running it together, I mean at the same time, but as the junior run was only 1 mile, it took place before the actual 10km challenge. Isabelle hesitated for a bit, but then there were a few of her classmates taking part, so at the end she was very excited.
When I saw her standing by the starting line, I had tears in my eyes. She has always been there for me when I was was taking part in my challenges, and now it’s my turn. I was so proud of her.
We did it. You can read about the actual day over on my parenting blog All Baby Advice and more. We did it for my dad who passed away a year ago and for Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre who support people affected by cancer to help them cope with their experience. If you would like to supportme & Isabelle, please sponsor us here. By the way, we are just £10 away from reaching our target!
Thank you.
What sports do you and your family enjoy?
I love this! I have a baby on the way and I can’t wait to teach my little one about the world, including healthy habits. I feel like me parents ate ok, but really didn’t teach my siblings great nutrition or exercise. I think it was due to how they were raised. Healthy habits definitely start at home 🙂
So true! I hope that by seeing me running (and their dad cycling and running from time to time), my kids will want to stay active, fit and healthy. I think it’s also important that I’m there to support my kids with their sport – so I’m always there watching the football and rugby and waiting outside for my daughter while she does her dance classes. It shows that I value what they do.
It’s brilliant that your daughter was motivated to do this run. My daughter does cross country at school and wants to run with me too. We did a 3 mile for Sport Relief this year and I must say it was hard for an 8yo, but she can only get better!
I so agree with this. I have gained so much weight since I stopped breastfeeding 2 years ago and starting to get my act together. Starting with walks and skipping rope at home. Our school run is my fitness and hopefully showing my son what walking is fun and can make us feel better =) #brillblosposts
Fab post, it is SO important to set your kids a good example when it comes to great eating habits and lots of exercise esp as child obesity is on the rise. Oliver and I actually run together and we live an outdoorsy lifestyle, both boys love doing yoga with me too! Love this post. Thanks for linking up to #brilliantblogposts x
Great post! I’d say actually my boys set a better fitness example for me at the moment as they’re both highly active. I’ve felt super proud watching my little ones perform their best and overcome their personal fears to become winners! It’s a great feeling and I’m so glad that both the boys are very into sports. Babe Papa wants to start playing tennis with the boys as that’s one of his fave sports. For me, I do hoola hooping with them (occasionally) except they do get in my way when I’m trying to spin lol 🙂 x
We don’t do a particular sport together 🙁 which is quite sad really. We do walk every weekend somewhere together, Declan does football, swimming and a dance troupe, Lily does gymnastics, swimming and dance troupe, so they are very active and they love it, I think we need to start doing more as a family.
Thank you Helen for you comment. I think walking definitely counts as being active, as long as it’s not just around the block. I used to go power-walking with hubby when we lived in Sydney years ago, used to love it.
Encouraging kids to be healthy and fit is so important and so true to lead by example! Well done both of you! My kids love swimming lessons and Z enjoys karate whilst Miss C loves horse riding. We walk a lot too.
Thank you for popping by! We go swimming every Sunday, a great family activity, so much fun!