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Thursday, May 25, 2006
When you are trying to teach your children about health and childrens fitness tips, you really have to get involved yourself.
After all, if you require your children to exercise while you sit on the couch munching on potato chips, they will not likely want to obey your rules. So, making childrens fitness a family event is always a great idea.
Not only will you be helping your kids learn about childrens fitness but you will be setting a great example and getting some exercise yourself.
Biking
Once your children are old enough to ride a bike, either with or without training wheels, you can start taking family bike rides. This is a great way to practice good childrens fitness and have fun at the same time. When the weather permits, schedule a weekly bike ride as a family. Your kids will start looking forward to that day in their childrens fitness plan and you will have a blast riding through the neighborhood with them.
Walking
You would be shocked at how excited your children will get when you take walks with them. Younger children love the excitement of getting out and going somewhere new and will likely love this part of their childrens fitness plan.
However, older children might need a little extra stimulation in this part of their childrens fitness plan. You might want to make a walk into a scavenger hunt for older children. Give them a list of things to find or see and let them cross them off as they come to them on your walk.
Skating
Another fun thing you can do as a family for your childrens fitness plan is skating. Buy everyone a pair of skates and head to a local deserted parking lot or park to try this part of your childrens fitness plan. You will have a blast skating around like a child. Be sure to stay safe and wear your helmets and knee pads!
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Monday, May 22, 2006
Planning children's birthday parties in the summer is always a little tricky. Unless you have a ton of children in your neighborhood, you can even have trouble trying to find kids to invite.
Most children invite those from their class at school, but with school being out, this is a tricky topic. When you do round up the guests for your children's birthday party, you can get to work making the party an unforgettable one. Try these three unique ideas to make your party stand out as being the best all year.
Sand Sculpting
For this task you will need to purchase a few inexpensive round swimming pools made of plastic. They should be somewhat small. Fill each pool with a few bags of play sand and sand tools.
In addition, put a few cups of water beside each pool. Split your party guests into teams of three and have a pool for each team. Then allow the team to work together using the sand, tools, and water to build their ultimate sand sculpture. This is a fun thing for the kids to do. Be sure you take pictures throughout and when they finish.
Water Gun Fights
If the parents of the guests that come to your children's birthday parties agree, a water gun fight is a great thing to do in the summer. Although children get to do this activity all of the time, it is more exciting at a party because there are more people involved.
Have one adult sit near the hose to refill the guns as needed and let the kids run free in the back yard. They will have a blast with this simple activity and you will be the queen or king of children's birthday parties in your neighborhood.
Plant A Garden
If your child is a little more laid back and you'd like your children's birthday party to stay indoors, you can think about allowing each guest to plant their own mini garden.
Get a small bowl, seeds, water, and dirt for each guest. Then allow them to plant and water their seeds in the bowl. They can take their activity home and watch it grow!
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Monday, May 15, 2006
When you are planning children's birthday parties, you will come to the planning step where you need to think about party favors. You can easily get this task completed by visiting your local party store and stocking up on toys and candy.
However, the toys you find at these stores are often cheaply made and overpriced. In fact, most children are unimpressed with the toys because they get them at every party they go to. So, to avoid that embarrassment, why not make your party favors unique and interesting?
Craft Favors
One great way to get the party attendees to participate in their party favor is to have craft favors. You can plan crafts so that those who attend the children’s birthday parties will not only have fun doing it, but also get to take their creation home as a favor from the event. You can do whatever you want, but if you can choose a craft that goes with your party’s them you will be even hipper than ever. Do a search online to find the best crafts for your child’s age.
T-Shirts & Hats
If you have a little time to spare before the big day, you can always choose to get t-shirts and hats made marking the event. For children’s birthday parties this works well. Kids love to dress alike and when you give them a t-shirt and hat, they will likely want to wear them everyday. Create your own picture logo on the front and give each child a t-shirt and hat with “Casey’s Big Birthday Party” on the front, or whatever your child’s name is on the front.
Photo Favors
Photos are the best way to remember events. If you want to include photos in your party, be sure to have a fast digital camera or Polaroid camera on hand. You can take a picture of the party child with each guest. Then make “frames” using foam squares and allow the children to decorate them. Glue a magnet on the back and you have an instant magnet as well. The kids love doing these activities at children’s birthday parties.
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Sunday, May 14, 2006
When you went to school, there may have been a bigger emphasis on childrens fitness than there is today. Gym class was something to take seriously and children were more active. Today however, it's up to the parents to teach their children about childrens fitness.
It is important that your children learn all about the importance of fitness at an early age, before bad habits set in. In order to be a good role model, you as a parent, must practice good habits as well.
Teach your children that exercise is a part of your daily routine and teach them childrens fitness exercises they can do too. You should try to be active with your child and get them interested in childrens fitness.
Another aspect of childrens fitness includes diet. You should teach your child that dessert and sweets in excess are not good for you. Teach them healthy alternatives they can use in their lives.
Of course treats are good once in a while, but if you really want your children to have good and healthy habits, you should limit them. They will probably crave the “bad foods” much less than you would expect. Be consistent with this, and do start early. If your children never eat fast food, they won’t even know what they are missing.
When you do your part to maintain your childrens fitness program, you will be doing all you can to ensure your children grow in a healthy way. They will learn to respect the lifestyle and will likely follow it all their life.
In addition, they will probably never have to worry about weight issues or other social issues associated with health because you took the extra time to teach them the importance of childrens fitness.
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Thursday, May 11, 2006
Childrens fitness is something that too many parents take for granted. Sure, your children are youthful and likely very healthy, but they need exercise as well. With the emergence of television, video games, and computers, children are getting less and less exercise each day.
Instead of concentrating on excercise, they are sitting in their homes playing mind stimulating games, without getting physically stimulated. This is great, but you need a balance. If you are interested in easy exercises you can do with your child, you can try these fun childrens fitness moves.
Stretching
Before you allow your child to do any childrens fitness activity you should stress the importance of stretching. You don’t have to be very technical with this childrens fitness warmup. Simply have the child reach their hands as far as they can above their head. In addition, have them touch their toes to the count of five. Then have them twist their upper torso to the right for five seconds and to the left for five seconds.
Jumping Jacks
A great way to get cardio activity into your childrens fitness plan is by teaching your children to do jumping jacks. These simple exercises are likely something you remember from gym class in school yourself. You can start by having them do ten each day. If they like these exercises add a few more each time you play together. Younger children may have trouble getting good at this exercise, but they will catch on. As long as they are moving, it is good for them.
Relay Races
Whenever there is a race involved, you can bet children will get interested. So, if you want to get your children running, try relay races. If it is just you and your child, you will have to do two man races however, you will get good exercise as well. Your childrens fitness is worth the extra effort from you and you will be spending quality time together at the same time.
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Monday, May 08, 2006
When you have children, you start thinking about the upcoming children’s birthday parties you will have the opportunity to plan and attend. Then, you actually have to plan one.
Having a party at the local kid’s activity place sounds like a great idea. After all, you don’t have to clean up and everything is included. But, once you go through a party or two at the most popular kid’s place in your town, you might think otherwise. You will likely leave with a headache and the days events swirling around in your mind.
That's why an at-home children’s birthday party to is another great way to go. There is no need to stretch the budget by taking them to one of our My Gym childrens birthday parties every year. They already come to our weekly classes, right?
Instead, you can easily plan your own birthday party at home and allow your children and their guests to have a blast at your children’s birthday parties.
The trick to having a birthday party at home is to have a flexible schedule in mind. Set a time for the party to begin and follow through with it (give or take 5 minutes). Allow your children some time to play a few games at the start of the party.
You can find fun games that are appropriate for kids your child’s age on the Web. You can even ask your child which games they've enjoyed at other children’s birthday parties they've attended.
After the children have had tons of fun playing games at your children’s birthday party, you can move along to the cake. Allow your child to blow out their candles and sit everyone down in the eating area. If you don’t have enough room for everyone to sit and eat, think about laying down a sheet on the floor and letting them eat “picnic” style.
After the quick clean up (use paper plates and juice boxes for ease), you can move right along to the present event. You can do this however you’d like at your children’s birthday parties however there is one great way to include everyone.
Place a chair next to the birthday child and allow each child to take turns sitting in it while your child opens the present from them. This allows everyone at your children’s birthday parties to be able to see your child open their gift.
When the presents are done, it will be time to go. Having children’s birthday parties at home is an easy and inexpensive way to allow everyone to have a blast.
If even this sounds like too much work, try one of the My Gym childrens birthday parties that we offer at nearly all of our locations.
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Thursday, May 04, 2006
Planning children’s birthday parties may sound like an overwhelming task. It really doesn’t have to be that difficult however. One of the easiest ways to get started is to choose a theme.
Sit down with your child and let them choose from a few themes. If you try to choose pary themes for your child, they will miss out on part of the fun, so be sure to include them in on the task.
Once you have the theme in mind, you will roll right through the preparation. Children’s birthday parties can be easily decorated and planned with a theme. You will start noticing things in the store that you can use with your theme.
Experts will tell you that when planning children’s birthday parties, you should make a list of what you want to include. Plates, cups, napkins, and all paper items should be on your birthday list. Party favors, decorations, and miscellaneous items should also be includes on children’s birthday parties lists.
As you pick up these items during shopping, be sure to cross them off your list and take them home to store them in one general place. That way when the party day arrives, you will have everything organized.
Some themes to consider when planning children’s birthday parties are sports themes, cartoon character themes, or hobby themes. You can do a party with a football theme. You can do a SpongeBob theme, or even a craft theme with their favorite characters.
The more creative and specific your theme is, the better your party wi
ll be. Remember, themes should be age appropriate and your games and food should tie in well. Then, you can start planning the food, games, and other activities.
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