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* Find a My Gym for kids near your home now!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Adult exercise and children's exercise are two different things. Adults can enjoy running, swimming or working out for its own sake. Children need a reason (competing for a prize, beating a record, etc.) or they need the activity itself to be fun. It's hard for them to focus on long term goals such as losing weight or reducing the chance of a heart attack in forty years' time. They need to be motivated by the prospect of an immediate reward - or, still better, by the fact that the exercise they're doing is fun at the time.
There are many different fads in children's exercise. Some of these last only for a season, and some come and go, experiencing a new burst of popularity with each generation. One form of exercise which has undying appeal is hula dancing. It' something even small children can learn to do well, and it's lots of fun.
Modern hula hoops come in a wide range of colors and patterns. Some are day-glo and some even have flashing lights. Make sure you find one which will appeal to your child's taste. You should also make sure you purchase one of the appropriate size - smaller versions are available for young children. It's easiest if you also have one you can use yourself so you can show your child how it's done. Don't worry if you're not very good at it - your child will be thrilled to find an activity at which they can out-do you.
Traditional challenges involving hula hoops include how many times one can swing the body to keep the hoop moving (without dropping it), how long one can keep it moving for, and how many hoops one can move at once. As hula hoops are cheap, you won't have to invest a lot of money if your child wants to expand on this hobby. It's a simple but very effective form of exercise which burns up energy, improves co-ordination, builds up the leg muscles and provides guaranteed fun.Labels: childrens, exercise, kids
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Saturday, November 24, 2007
If you're looking for activities for kids which can keep them busy whilst you work, you'll be amazed by how long they can occupy themselves playing with a simple tray of sand or sawdust. Accompanied by the right props, this can be used in a wide range of imaginative games to be played alone or in groups.
Before you introduce activities involving sand or sawdust, make sure you've covered a wide area with old newspaper. Even well behaved children will inevitably end up spilling some of the stuff, so mess is inevitable. Make sure clothes can easily be brushed down and be ready to organize hand-washing when the activities are over. Be attentive to calls of complaint, as, with groups, there's always a risk that wet sand will start to be thrown.
Many children enjoy playing with construction industry toys such as diggers, bulldozers and cement mixtures. Playing with these in sand or sawdust is much better than just pushing them along the floor. It gives them a chance to function as they're supposed to, and children can have great fun using them to build up structures or tear them down again.
With the addition of a little water, and or sawdust can be used to create more solid structures such as small sandcastles. Shaped buckets can make it easier to create elaborate designs. You can ornament these with shells or pebbles taken from the beach.
Ordinary household objects such as toilet roll middles and pieces of plastic bottle can be used to create tunnels, tubes and slopes for sand and sawdust based games. In fact, this type of substrate offers so many different activities for kids that they can amuse themselves with it for whole afternoons, learning skills they'll be able to put to good use when they grow up.Labels: activities, childrens, fun, gym, kids
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Monday, November 19, 2007
One of the most popular approaches to children's birthday parties is fancy dress, but it can be a difficult thing to organize. If you're holding a fancy dress party for your child, how can you make sure that it goes well and everyone involved has a good time?
Most fancy dress parties have themes. It's possible to run them without, but many children (and even some parents) will have difficulty coming up with costume ideas without that bit of extra prompting. Themes encourage people to be more creative. However, not every good party theme works for fancy dress. It's easy to dress up as a fairy tale character or a pirate, but harder to dress up in a fun way for a inflatables or racing car theme. Obviously, the most important factor in choosing the theme is what your child wants, but you'll need to plan together to come up with something suitable.
Prizes for the best costumes are now so common at fancy dress parties that children expect them and will be upset if you don't include them. Including two runners-up as well as an overall winner will help to decrease aggressive competition. You should be clear from the start that costumes bought or hired for the occasion won't be considered for the prize. This will make sure that the same advantaged children don't win at every party they go to. Try to keep in mind not only what looks impressive but also what represents impressive imaginative effort and what has been the most trouble to create.
Inevitably, some children arrive at fancy dress parties without costumes, often because their parents simply haven't been willing to help them. To avoid these children feeling left out, and to avoid diluting the party theme, try to have some simple costumes available for them to borrow. These can include things like cardboard masks and paper hats which are easy to make and cost next to nothing. Face paints also help children to be creative with last-minute costumes.
Fancy dress children's birthday parties can be lots of fun for everyone, so make sure your children get to experience the excitement of hosting them.Labels: activities, birthday, childrens, kids, parties, party
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
If there's one activity which young children can be guaranteed to enjoy, it's bouncing. With naturally flexible bodies and springy muscles, they like nothing more than to leap up and down when they're excited - but we adults, in our endlessly confusing way, are always telling them to stop. Don't bounce on the couch or on your bed - you might break it! Don't bounce in the kitchen when I'm trying to cook!
Don't bounce in puddles! It's a confusing message because it seems to them that they're being told not to be physical - when, at the same time, we claim we want them to be fit.
Letting kids get fit by doing what's natural for them doesn't have to mean letting them break every piece of furniture in the house or soak you whenever it's raining. If you take your children to a gymnasium, or even to a fete, you may well find opportunities for them to bounce in an environment designed for the purpose.
Inflatable castles are always the most popular thing at the funfair and they enhance fitness for kids at the same time as tiring them out, making life easier for their parents. Trampolines, if properly supervised, can also provide a great outlet for all that youthful energy. And trampolines don't have to be just for the gym.
Because manufacturers understand how bouncing can help with fitness for kids, it's now possible to get miniature trampolines which can be used in your own back garden,or even in a high ceilinged room in your house. With specially covered springs, these trampolines are much safer for children and provide an excellent way for them to use up excess energy.
Encourage them to bring friends round to join in so that they don't get bored of playing with it, and the trampoline will become a favorite toy which will enjoy many years of use. It'll help your kids to get fit on their own terms, in a way which never ceases to be fun.Labels: childrens, exercise, fitness, fun, inflatable games, kids
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Monday, November 12, 2007
Throwing a surprise party for an adult can be difficult, but when a child is involved it's really quite an art. Yet surprise children's birthday parties can be worth the effort. Done right, they'll be among your kids' fondest memories of childhood. A birthday is the most exciting event of a child's year, and a surprise party just makes it more so.
The first difficulty you'll encounter in planning a surprise party for your child is that your child will expect a party of some sort. Obviously you won't want to leave them upset and disappointed for weeks, thinking that nothing is going to happen. For this reason, it's best to arrange an alternative special event. Ideally, this will get your child out of the house, leaving you with time to prepare and get everybody there.
A trip to the zoo, to a sporting event or to the cinema, perhaps in the company of a best friend, can keep your child happy for a couple of hours without exhausting them - because after all, they'll need to have some energy left over.
Telling your child's friends that they're invited to a secret party is, unfortunately, right out. Excited children can't be expected to keep quiet about such things. For this reason, you'll need to plan the event not with them but with their parents, who can tell them on the day after your child is out of the way.
Your child's school may be able to help you make contact with the parents if you don't already know them, as well as advising you on any close friends your child may have whom you haven't yet met. Children are usually uninterested in what adults have to say to each other, but be careful about making phone calls from the house where you may be overheard.
A surprise party needs to have a proper impact, so make sure that everyone has plenty of warning as your child arrives home, and that everyone is ready to jump out and shout "Surprise!" You should have a birthday cake ready and games about to begin so that the fun can take off right away.
Surprise children's birthday parties can be difficult to put together, but they're worth the effort. They'll give your child a truly special day.Labels: birthday, childrens, fun, kids, parties, party
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Friday, November 09, 2007
If you're the sort of person who wants to get your kids fit for the sake of their futures, the chances are that you're concerned about other people's well-being too. If you'd like to raise your kids to be the sort of people who support good causes, there are ways you can go about that and boost their health at the same time.
Kids like to be involved with good causes because it gives them a sense of usefulness in the wider world. It allows them to take on responsibility in a completely safe way. Undertaking challenges for charity also appeals to their natural competitive instincts, even if the only people they're competing against are themselves.
Kid's fitness events for charity are easy to organize and can be tailored to suit your children's interests. Some kids like to see how many times they can bounce up and down on a trampoline, whilst others may want to see how far they can run or swim. Make sure you have reliable people on hand to help them count.
These activities are even more popular if you can persuade kids to undertake them in groups. You'll fined lots of charities online and listed in your local telephone directory who can help you to plan your event and can organize the collection of money your kids make.
This can be collected by visiting friends and neighbors and getting them to agree to sponsoring the kids per jump, per lap of the running track, etc. Knowing they'll make more money of they do more work will encourage your children to push their limits.
Charity events are not only a good thing in themselves, they also inspire practice and training, potentially helping with fitness for kids over the course of several weeks. Help your children to help themselves by helping others, and everyone wins.Labels: exercise, fitness, gym, kids
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Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Painting is one of those activities for kids which is guaranteed to entertain - but it can be a nightmare for the adults looking after them! Spilled paint, stained clothing, children daring each other to drink the water they've been washing their brushes in - it's hard work to supervise, especially with a large group, and it's in groups that children find activities like this most fun.
The trick, of course, is to keep them out of trouble by keeping them focused on what they're supposed to be doing. That's much easier of you're working on something with a bit of mystery to it - something like butterfly painting.
When you're painting butterflies, you'll start off by using just half of the paper. Draw a pencil line down the middle or fold the paper over so that the kids don't get confused. Give them bright watercolors or poster paints and encourage them to paint right up to the folded edge. They should be painting just one side of a butterfly - two overlapping wings and a slim dark body with a feeler at one end.
The important part is, of course, the wings. Children will love using vivid colors to bring these to life. They'll compete to have the best butterfly design. Encourage them to use their imagination and keep talking to them throughout, asking them about their choices. If they're stuck for ideas, help them by showing them some pictures of real butterflies or of the sort of flowers the butterfly might want to feed from.
When the painting has been finished, dampen the paint on the paper if it's dried. Then fold the paper over so that the painted part prints a mirror image onto the other half of the page. When you unfold it again, you'll see a beautiful butterfly!
This is one of the most popular activities for kids because it gives them exciting pictures to compare, and they'll love to see their artwork displayed on the walls. They'll enjoy butterfly painting so much, you'll find them remarkably little trouble. Much like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, each unfolded picture is a surprise.Labels: activities, birthday, kids, party
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