by Kristina K.Summers

Created on: May 08, 2009

Everyone knows how important it is to keep kids fit. With obesity and diabetes occurrences reaching epidemic proportions, a day can't go by when we don't hear from some well intentioned "authority" that we need to get our kids active. Common sense you say.

Well what about the majority of Americans who are struggling to pay their rent/mortgage and put food on the table? Participating in organized sports is expensive, and if you have more than one child...well lets just say you can kiss those bright shiny uniforms and generic trophies goodbye.

So how do you keep your kids fit, trim and healthy without the weekly outing to the ball field?

First of all, be an example. Remember that old adage, do as a I say and not as I do? Well it didn't work when you were a kid and it doesn't work now. If you want your kids to value physical activity and being healthy then you have to put down the remote yourself and head outdoors, preferably with the little ones in tow. In our crazy, workaholic world, there is no better cure than an hour of freeze tag with the kids or even just a game of catch. You get to spend quality time with your kids and they get the advantage of exercise without even knowing it.

Another way to get kids active without team sports is to get them interested in making your yard the best on the block. I have a kid down the street who did this and takes such pride in making his own yard look awesome that it spilled over into other homes and then out onto the main thoroughfare. Now, because of his work the county actually recognized him as the honorary caretaker and put up a Keep Barrow Beautiful sign with his name on it. Talk about activity with benefits. We all get to enjoy the fruits of his labor and he gets a metal sign that declares to all that he is the super caretaker of our stretch of the community.

Ok, so say you live in an apartment, with few opportunities to get outside and mow the grass, what do you do then? Well there are still many ways to be active. Enlist your kids to help you with household chores. Make doing laundry and dusting a dance competition and turn up the tunes. Become inefficient and make as many trips as you can up and down the stairs, even taking two steps at a time. If yo have down time, play Twister or musical chairs. There are always ways to get moving, just put your thinking cap on.

No matter where you live or your financial situation there is always a way to stay fit. Focus on healthy eating and moving as much as possible and you can keep your family healthy even without the fancy uniforms and weekly gossip fests with the soccer moms.

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