FITNESS Keeping kids fit is child’s play

Kids’ play is oh so important


Personal Trainer
Paul O'Brien

“YOU are not your children.” I remember attending a training workshop a few years ago and hearing one of the presenters say this, or something very like it. The workshop was held in the US and the subject matter was ‘Tackling Childhood Obesity’.
I also remember feeling lucky that we didn’t have a childhood obesity epidemic to deal with in Ireland.
Times change. The obesity epidemic has now become a pandemic, spanning many of the world’s developed countries. Now, more than ever, there is a need to encourage exercise amongst children. It’s no longer just the remit of parents, or teachers or clubs. It’s a responsibility we all must share.
The difficulty arises in knowing exactly how to encourage our kids to develop an exercise habit. For starters, maybe we should stay away from words like ‘program of exercise’, ‘recommendations’ and maybe even the word ‘exercise’. These are all good words, but not very inspiring if you’re 10!
So, what pointers could I give to parents who may be struggling with this issue? Here are some thoughts based on my experience of working with kids. Let’s start with word choice.
Perhaps ‘Free movement’ or simply ‘play’ are the best words to describe exercise to kids.
Secondly, to go back to the first line of this article, it’s important to note that a child’s motivation to play is not the same as an adult’s motivation to exercise.
As adults, we exercise to stay in shape, achieve a goal and improve our performance etc. These concepts are and should be gobbly-gook to a child. A child does not think about what she can achieve from exercise. Though maybe not consciously aware of it, a child’s motivation is to have fun while accomplishing something with their bodies; learn new tasks;  experience success, beginning with relatively easy tasks and progressing gradually to more difficult ones and developing confidence. These are the real wins for kids. In short, exercise is a learning and developmental experience based on self-discovery. A parent trying to encourage exercise in their kids can help build positive experiences and design appropriate activities when using this approach.
Another factor is to discover what really interests your kids. It’s always helpful to ask the question ‘am I encouraging this activity to satisfy my own needs?’ Of course, parents want what’s best for their kids, but sometimes you may think you know what’s best when you don’t. Measure a child’s interest and enjoyment of an activity by the width of their smile, or the decibel level of their enthusiasm, not by their level of achievement.
In my experience, it’s also good to know when to stand back and let your child simply enjoy themselves. It’s possible that over-enthusiastic involvement in your kids’ activities can do more harm than good. In their eagerness to please and get things right, kids can easily miss out on their enjoyment of an activity. They become more concerned about pleasing Mum and Dad.
Finally, remember the great words of Rudyard Kipling’s poem – ‘If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same....’ Remember that abundant excitement when your child wins or achieves something should be tempered. A child may otherwise feel that you’re disappointed when they don’t win or be overburdened by expectation.
The light and loving approach, encouraging play, discovery and learning are a winning formula to whet a child’s appetite for activity and will help build the confidence and self-esteem that will touch all areas of their lives.

Paul O’Brien is a Personal Trainer and Life Coach and runs his own fitness and coaching business in Westport. He is the founder of Bootcamp West, a fitness program running in Westport, Castlebar and Louisburgh. For information about fitness training, coaching, bootcamp programmes and new TRX classes, email Paul at paul@bootcampwest.com or call 086 1674515.