Raising a child can affect, and is affected by everyone and everything around that child, and being good role models and leading a healthy, active lifestyle is the greatest lesson we as parents, and adults can give. It will form good habits that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
I am very passionate about children’s fitness and have focussed my attention on bringing the fun of fitness back to life amongst our future generation.
I have recently been saddened by the enormity of media attention on the lack of fitness and the obesity epidemic that has unfortunately hit the UK and the rest of the world hard!
Recent news has detailed how children start to become less active at the age of 7 years old!! That’s absolute madness, and we all know the reasons why? Technology!
Now, I am not putting all the blame on to computers and television, and admit that these amazing breakthroughs have enabled us to do remarkable things, social media has opened our eyes to other cultures and countries all over the world, it has helped us to find and connect with people we haven’t seen in such a long time, those who can help you develop your career prospects and the web has been amazing for our one stop shop fits all approach to research, new science and so much more.
However, for all its pro’s, it has also opened up a can of worms for many con’s. How is it possible that physical activity has now gone down the drain for many children around the UK and the world in general? Kids of today just aren’t as interested in going to a field and just literally playing, I think many have actually forgotten what it is like to play. This play used to incorporate a lot of running around, climbing a tree, playing hide and seek, British bulldog, tag and so on.
Children need to be inspired, and we as parents, carers, guardians and leaders can certainly do that, after all we need to find a way to make an everlasting impact on the kids of today about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. Pick a fun active game you used to play when you were in school and get the whole family involved. Believe me, you will have a giggle doing it and your family bond will begin to grow even stronger than it is now. Precious family fun time that will leave a long lasting happy memory.
Here’s one game that the kids I teach absolutely love, “What’s the time Mr Wolf”, a simple game that ends with them all being chased by the instructor or adult, this is how you play…
The children gather on one side of the space, and the adult (Mr Wolf) stands on the other side.
At Mr Wolf’s signal, the players ask “What’s the time Mr Wolf”, Mr Wolf responds with “its 4’o clock, hop like a bunny”, everyone hops like a bunny. The question is repeated, and you can substitute different moves each time (skip, walk backwards, crawl) until the players draw near Mr Wolf. The last answer given is “its dinner time”, to which Mr Wolf chases after all the kids until they are back to where they started.
This game is suitable for children of 2-5yrs old, they really do love being chased, and parents, carers and guardians can easily perform this game, running is an option some people can walk fast for a low impact approach.
Now here are a few facts, that I am sure will shock you as much as it did me. Research has shown that rates of anxiety and depression among children and adolescents were far lower during the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, and the turbulent 1960s and early ‘70s than they are today. The changes seem to have much more to do with the way young people view the world than with the way the world actually is. It is so sad to find out that children are more depressed nowadays than they have ever been and I am convinced that this has a lot to do with the decline in physical activity within children.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that the best tip we can give our children in life is to be as physically active as possible, it releases endorphins, centres and calms the mind and gives you the all over feeling of accomplishment and even happiness at times when you need it the most.
I would like to share with you a little something I wrote when I came to create Coyote Kids Fit Club.
I’d like to live in a world where…
- All children are active, having fun and playing outdoors, and not living a life through a computer.
- A future generation who are not afraid of competition, but are motivated, determined and confident individuals.
- Obesity not to be an epidemic.
- Getting all families active and spending more time together away from the distraction of technology”
“Coyote creates a healthy, active child for life.”
What type of world would you like to live in?
If you would like to know more about Coyote Kids Fit Club, head to our Facebook page @Coyotefitnessuk to see what we get up too, and if you’d like to get involved contact rebecca@coyotefitness.co.uk. The children of today need us as much encouragement as we do, to keep them motivated, and on the right path to leading a healthy, active lifestyle!
