Exercise Builds Your Kids Bone Mass Early

Exercise Builds Your Kids’ Bone Mass Early

According to studies, running and jumping may be the ideal way to strengthen kids’ bones.

The benefits are much greater during skeletal growth and development, which is during childhood and adolescent years.

Building strong and healthy bones is critical during your child’s early years of development because the cellular mechanosensors within bone direct osteogenesis (new bone growth) to where it is most needed to improve bone strength and hence bone mass.

It is very important that you instruct/participate in exercise with your kids at least 30 minutes a day.

Need some ideas for fun kids’ exercises that will help your child build stronger muscles and bones? Visit our Web site.

Let’s keep our kids healthy and strong!

Source: Science Daily

Fun Kid Fitness

What a week last week! I’m here today to report about my time spent with the second graders at VBS. In particular, I wanted to share with you the fun kid fitness activities that we participated in.

If your children can’t make it to a VBS in your neighborhood this year, then maybe you can try out these kid fitness activities yourself.

The great thing about these activities is that they get your children exercising while having fun. These activities are also 15 minutes or less.

I had a group of 14 kids who each had different skill levels. Some kids were quite athletic, while other kids didn’t have much coordination at all. But all of the kids:

•Were never bored
•Always had fun
•Loved the aspect of teamwork
•Gave it their best effort
•Wanted to participate more

Let me share with you a few of the kids’ fitness activities that we participated in.

Knock the cans off of the square – In this game you need some cans filled with sand or dirt and cover the holes with duct tape. Stack the cans up with four on the bottom, two next and finally one can on top. Place a line of masking tape five to seven feet away. The kids stand behind that line and throw a ball at the cans trying to knock them out of a square area. In this particular instance, with each can they knocked off of the square, they were able to retrieve words on a piece of paper that were part of a Bible verse. The kids then put together the words all on their own.

This activity works on gross motor skills, concentration and reading. All in 15 minutes!

Kickball – Everybody knows how to play kickballand the kids loved it. Each day for the outside activity the kids ran full blast to the playing field. No motivation required! What more could you ask for?

It’s great to see the energy that many kids possess. Skill level didn’t matter.

Are you having success getting your kids to participate in fun exercise activities? Having trouble thinking of ideas? Come to our Web site and sign up to receive our free report entitled, “Ten ways to teach your kids how to live a healthy lifestyle.” This should get you started in the right direction.

Continue to visit our blog as we discuss kids’ exercise. Our goal is to give you information you can use in your own situation. We hope we can motivate you to help bring yourself and your family to healthier living.

Healthy Lifestyle Triggers Genetic Changes

I can confidently state that kids exercise and healthy lifestyles can help prevent disease and weight problems. In fact, a
new study suggests that having a healthy lifestyle can trigger genetic changes. You know what this means? You can’t blame genes for all of your health problems.

I’m sure you’ve heard someone close to you say, with their heads lowered, “well, my daddy had it, my uncle had it, I’m gonna get it to.”

In this study, 30 men with low-grade prostate cancer opted out of the normal unhealthy radiation and chemotherapy treatments and instead underwent three months of lifestyle change. This lifestyle change included eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation.

The study showed that they lost weight and lowered their blood pressure, as well as other health improvements. But researchers found out something extraordinary when they retook the biopsy.

The activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Can you believe that?! More and more evidence that a healthy lifestyle equals less health problems.

Start now with your children. Just take 30 minutes to an hour each day to participate in family exercise. Bad weather? No problem. Find out how to conduct some easy, affordable
kids’ indoor exercises.

Is money tighter than usual because of the enormous amount of inflation we are currently experiencing? Leave that $3.99 box of processed food snacks on the shelf and get a 5lb bag of apples instead.

What are your thoughts? Leave comments on this study. Tell me your ideas on inexpensive ways to be healthy.

Talk to you soon!

You Can Help Your Kids Be Healthy!

63% of kids are no longer physically active once they reach high school. That is quite a high number, isn’t it? Well, it doesn’t have to be your kids!

All it takes is for mom and dad to get up off the couch and show them that exercise is fun. I’m not talking about some structured kids’ exercise program where they clock in, keep quiet and painfully do adult-type exercises. I’m talking about fun kids’ activities the whole family can enjoy together.

There are a number of activities that I’m sure you can think of such as riding bikes, playing tag, throwing the ball and many others.

Also show them that healthy foods are tasty. There are plenty of low-fat foods, fruits and vegies to choose from. Stay away from processed food. Imagine placing dirty water in your gas tank. There isn’t much nutritional value in processed food. My personal weight trainer called processed food “empty calories,” which implies that it’s calories you’re taking in that are worthless and not useful for the body.

There are so many benefits to starting your kids young.

Fact: Physically active children have fewer chronic health problems than kids who are sedentary.

Fact: They’re better able to meet the demands of daily physical activity.

Fact: They do better in physical-performance tests.

Fact: They have a stronger self-image and more self-confidence, and they demonstrate greater improvement in skill- and health-related fitness.

You can have a positive roll in how you teach your kids what to eat and how to participate in fun kids’ exercises. Just knowing the benefits should be all the motivation you need.

Source: ACE Fitness

Go here to receive our free special report, “Ten ways to teach your kids how to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Childrens Summer Activity Idea

One way to ensure your kids are active this summer is to sign up for a local Vacation Bible School. Most churches reserve a week each summer for VBS and love having kids participate, even if they’re not church members.

This week I’m volunteering at my church’s VBS and I’ve already witnessed kids participating in lots of exercise-related activities. It’s fun to see them enjoying themselves with children their age. They also seem more willing to participate in activities when other kids are involved. And it’s a great way for them to make new friends.

For parents, it’s not only a great way to provide a fun, healthy activity for their children, it also gives them a break for a few hours.

So, call your local churches to get their VBS schedules and sign your kids up today.

For more suggestions to keep your kids active this summer, visit our Web site.

Family Plans For The Weekend

What are your family’s plans for the weekend? Do you plan on participating in some sort of family exercise?

How about swimming or hiking? Maybe you could take a walk or go to the park.

If it’s raining or way too hot do you have any indoor activities planned?

Is there anything holding you back? Tell me about it.

I encourage you to leave your comments.

Get Your Children to Eat Healthier

One way to get your children to eat healthier is to schedule regular family dinners. Harvard researchers have found that children ages 9 to 14 who eat a family dinner are more likely than their peers to eat fruits and veggies and less likely to drink soda or eat unhealthy, fried, high-fat or sugary foods. The findings are from a study of more than 16,000 boys and girls.

The children participating in this study who sat down to family dinners had a slightly higher intake of calories, but also had a higher intake of fiber and many nutrients, including calcium, folate, vitamins B6, B12, C and E, and iron.

The more often the children ate dinner with their families, the healthier their eating patterns appeared to be.

Something amazing taken from the study was that research showed that working women can have as much of an impact on nutritional quality as those who don’t work. Close to 90% of the mothers of children in the study worked.

We know that despite that amazing stat, it’s still hard for mothers to make a quality healthy meal at all times. In America, the lure of fatty, unhealthy fast food is on every street corner. Just say no!

Another food you can say no to is processed food. Keep it out of the house.

So, two keys to having healthy children are to eat together as a family and to choose healthy foods. Coupled with children exercising, these two factors will make a big difference.

Source: Archives of Family Medicine March 2000

Read my free special report, “Ten ways to teach your kids how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Do Your Kids Exercise?

Sure, your kids may get exercise during their school gym class, at baseball or softball practices, or from just playing around in the back yard.

But is that enough exercise?

Does your child participate in those types of extra-curricular physical activities?

Does your child prefer video games before riding bikes or running in the back yard?

Regular exercise gives a child the benefit of better overall health. This includes stronger bones and muscles, less likelihood of being overweight, a fresher mental outlook, and a myriad of other benefits.

We want to hear from you! Tell us what you’ve experienced. Feel free to answer any or all of the questions below.

• Does your child participate in fun exercise?
• What fun physical activities do you participate in with your kids?
• Is it hard for you to find time to plan fun kids’ exercises?
• What is your child’s response to fun exercise?

Please leave your comments and thoughts. We would love to hear from you!