Incorporating exercise into your children’s lifestyle is extremely important not only for their physical health, but also their emotional and mental state. Exercising with your child, especially your adopted children, can increase bonding between parent and child as well as aid in the grief we mentioned in an earlier blog post.

We know, we know. Finding time for exercise in your already busy day is the hard part. But incorporating exercise isn’t as difficult as it might seem, especially when you do it as a family. Plus, when the kids see exercise as a family event, they won’t form a negative view of working out.  Since it’s National Exercise with Your Kids Week, now’s a great time to start!

1) Create a routine: Making exercise a habit instead of chore can make all the difference. Try going for a walk or bike ride before or after dinner every night. Find what works best for your family and implement it as a daily activity.

2) Crank up the music: Have a dance party in your living room. After a stressful day, dancing with the kids and the spouse around the house can be exactly the right medicine. Plus, you will get great cardio from it. You can even incorporate dancing into chores. Who hasn’t busted a move while picking up the laundry or doing the dishes?

3) Transform commercials into workouts: So your kids have their favorite TV shows, or maybe you have a favorite that you just can’t miss. That’s totally fine! Turn the commercial breaks into a time to exercise. Try doing sets of squats, lunges, pushups, situps or even yoga. Pinterest is a great resource for these types of short workouts. Check out our board for more ideas.

4) Go cycling: Who said bike riding was just for the kids? Grab your bike and go riding with the family. This is a great way to get exercise and have tons of fun!

5) On your mark: Competitions provide a goal for you to work towards and gives the kids an incentive to get out there. You would be surprised at how many families do short runs together, like a 5K. If your kids are too small, you can have friendly family competitions.

We hope these tips help you develop the perfect family exercise plan. Remember, you family is unique. Find what works best for your family and go with it. Contact your local wellness center, professional exercise coach or medical provider for more information about safe and effective family exercise programs. Please call New Beginnings for all of your adoption needs.