Why we should exercise in the family home
Working out with your children can be a beautiful and playful bonding experience. But it does come without its challenges! When your little ones are newborn it can be hard to put them down, when they’re toddlers it can be hard to keep them present and when they’re teenagers they may not want to be involved at all!
I hope that this article will provide you with some tips and much needed motivation to keep moving with your little ones in tow
Why should we exercise with our kids anyway?
The research suggests that by working out in the family environment, not only do we achieve the physical and mental benefits of exercise ourselves, we act as role models to inspire a movement-filled life for our kids too. Cleland et al (2011) found that through maternal role modelling (ie- a mother exercising) during young boys’ critical window (weekends and after 6pm), young boys were positively influenced to participate in moderate to vigorous physical activity. This shows that inspiring children to move more often starts by the parents doing just that. By making exercise a regular part of the weekend and evening routine, parents can model this behaviour and get their little ones active too.
But where do I start?
If you have babies and/or toddlers, bodyweight or weighted home workouts are good place to start. You can begin with 15-20 minutes and complete a simple routine that allows you to entertain your little ones or hold them if necessary. My daughter is still only 15 months, so since she’s been tiny I’ve done 20 minute workouts that require only one or two dumbbells. I prefer workouts that follow a reps & sets protocol rather than a time based protocol (e.g. 45s exercise, 15s recovery) because I’ve found that distractions would limit how much I could achieve in the 45 seconds, whereas if I need to tend to her needs I can always pick up the remaining reps and sets when I can.
If you have access to a jogging buggy, taking your little one/s out will allow you to complete your run whilst enabling your baby to get fresh air and a sensory experience outdoors. I run with my daughter rain or shine, and ensure that I keep my runs to 30 mins max and local to home.
If you have older kids, encouraging them to bike ride or scooter next to you whilst you run can be a brilliant way to get you both moving.
Older children love responsibility and giving them a specific role can make them feel included and special. When I was a child, my mum would have me ride my bike next to her as she ran laps of the park. She gave me the job of timing her and motivating her. I felt so important, and was exercising alongside her too. No wonder I love running laps of the park now also!
How to encourage positive movement
Although children often love challenges and competition, its nice to integrate some movement into the family home that doesn’t involve winning. Movement such as yoga, cycling, walking, pilates, team-based home workouts (e.g. ‘we need to reach 50x squats as a team’) and swimming can be done in a fun, positive, engaging and non-competitive way. We can really shout about our non-scale victories in front of our children (think: ‘that workout has made me feel so energised’, ‘I feel so accomplished now’, ‘we tried really hard, didn’t we?’, ‘I got a really good night sleep after that session’) and be mindful of how we frame exercising in front of them. If we talk about using exercise as a chore or a punishment for certain eating habits or behaviour, we can be unknowingly negatively impact our little ones’ relationship with it. Exercising is not always something we look forward to and it’s great to be honest about that, but making a point of speaking about its benefits can help your little one feel good about moving. Also being sure to integrate those non-competitive elements will support your child in seeing beyond winning and enjoy movement regardless of their ability
Even if you only manage a family workout once in a while, or you only get time to train with your baby every few weeks, something is better than nothing and if you’re doing your best, that’s what counts! I’m always looking for ways to integrate regular movement into my home life, and I share my tips and tricks over on my Instagram and TikTok, so be sure to catch me there! Happy moving :)
