Top Five Tips to Get Kids & Teens Moving from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

(NEW YORK) April 6, 2010 – You don’t need fancy equipment or a health club to help your kids get their combined 60 minutes of daily physical activity. All you need are some regular household items and a little imagination. Combine a few of these tips from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a partnership of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, and they’ll quickly add up to a fun and healthy routine.

Naturally, the best way to get your kids moving is to get up and go with them. So make daily activity part of the program, and you could enjoy the health benefits too! Visit www.HealthierGeneration.org for additional fun tips and resources to get you and your kids moving.

1. That’s How They Roll: Encourage your kids to put their muscles to work on their bikes, skates or scooters. Don’t forget the helmets and pads.

2. Made for Walking: Teach your kids to use their feet every chance they get. Let them walk to a friend’s house, to the store, around the mall or wherever it’s safe to walk. While they’re at it, they can walk your dog (or a neighbor’s dog).

3. Bring That Beat Back: There’s no better way to get active than to dance! It doesn’t have to be perfect—sometimes it’s more fun to be silly! Just turn up the music and move to the beat.

4. Home Teams: Your children don’t need to play organized sports to enjoy team activities. They can meet up with a few friends to shoot hoops, kick a soccer ball, play street hockey or throw a football or baseball. Check out your neighborhood recreation center for open gym times—and for other activities like tennis or swimming.

5. Give Them the Ball: Teach your kids how to get everyone moving. When they’re babysitting or playing with younger brothers or sisters, show them how to invent games and get everyone involved. Young kids love games like hopscotch, tag, hide-and-seek, Hula-Hoops, jumping rope, squirt guns, T-ball, kickball or flying a kite—especially when they’re doing it with a “cool” older kid.About the Alliance for a Healthier Generation
The American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation joined forces in May of 2005 to create a healthier generation by addressing one of the nation’s leading public health threats – childhood obesity. The goal of the Alliance is to reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015, and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices. The Alliance works to positively affect the places that can make a difference to a child’s health: homes, schools, restaurants, doctor’s offices and communities. For more information please visit: HealthierGeneration.org.

Source: Healthy.net News