Motivating The Family

Tips on How to Get Your Family Motivated to Get Healthier

Family life today is quite different than what it was 100 years ago. People tended to have many children and stayed active by the simple fact that the family had to work the land in order to eat. The process was difficult, to say the least, but the family unit was all, healthier because of the lifestyle they had to lead. Family life today is quite a bit different with kids primarily turning to their technology to keep them entertained and parents being so exhausted from their regular jobs to ensure that the whole family remains active, but we need to take responsibility for the health and wellness of our entire family and look for activities that will get everyone moving and out of the house.

Invest in the Outdoors

The vast majority of the effort we put into our homes is the décor on the inside. We want to showcase our homes to visitors as being stylish and comfortable, so we go to great pains to ensure that the appearance reflects that. There is nothing wrong with having a beautiful home on the inside and have it well maintained on the outside, but there needs to be more of a focus on what we have on the outside of our home as well.

An investment into the exterior of the home usually means a nice patio set and basically, places to sit on the outside when the weather is nice. These aspects of a home are great to encourage people to be comfortable on the outside of the home, but an effort to have sports activities as well will do more for your family’s health. A simple basketball goal or a bat mitten set will allow for the family to have an outdoor activity that they enjoy. It will probably fall to the parents to start up a game, so make sure that you as the parent encourage the rest of the family to join in the game to get them up and moving.

Interactive Games

The late 70s brought us the invention of the game console. This was the first time that a kid was able to interact with the television as a form of real entertainment. Although the first games are very primitive compared to the technology that we have today, it was the beginning. Soon every home throughout the world seemed to have at least one mindless kid sitting in front of the television for hours trying to conquer the latest game and beat the boss. The number of obese children began to rise because of the simple lack of activity, but the gaming industry began to integrate more interactivity into their games to where people had to actually get up and move in order to win the game. These interactive games are perfect for any family looking to get a little more active.

It is not always convenient to go outside. Weather conditions do not always cooperate with your family’s plans, so make it fun on the inside of the home with one of the many different interactive games available. The sports-oriented family can do many of the sports relate games while those that prefer to avoid spots can dance their way to a healthier lifestyle. Taking turns and comparing scores can make for a fun and competition based game for everyone.

Theme Parks

This may sound like an unconventional way to get the family active because it is all in the name of fun, but taking the family for an outing at a theme park is a great way to exercise without them even realizing what is going on. Theme parks are often quite big and require that you walk from one ride to another. There is also no sitting in the lines. The added bonus is the fact that the theme parks usually have some sort of water ride or activity that can cool the family off from time to time.

You can also make the entire trip a lot healthier by bringing a water bottle into the theme park with you to keep hydrated without having to resort to the overpriced sodas that they all seem to have. The food is also a very expensive addition that can be avoided as well by packing a cooler and simply eating your lunch in the parking lot. Many theme parks offer a picnic area just for families that do this. It keeps costs at a minimum and also allows for healthier food to be consumed throughout the day.

These are just some of the methods that can be used to motivate your family to put down their technology and get active. The rate of obesity is at an all-time high and it is up to the leaders of the family to ensure that they do not fall prey to the normality of sitting around all day. Doing things together will grow you into a healthier direction as well as keep you close to one another as a structured family unit. Get creative with how you approach your family’s health and have fun.