Helping Kids Move More to Improve Behavior

The coming of spring is a beautiful transition from winter’s darker, gloomier days. Your grandchild might have struggled over the winter months with cabin fever. Feeling antsy and acting out from their restlessness is not uncommon for kids, significantly if they were impacted by exposure to drugs or alcohol during pregnancy. Early life challenges such as loss, chaos, or neglect can also make it hard for children to regulate their brains and bodies.

Take advantage of the longer days of sunlight and fresh air to encourage new, healthier habits like regular physical activity. You will be pleasantly surprised by the benefits of improved behavior.

Build Up to It.

Pediatricians recommend that children (of all ages!) get a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity a day. That might sound impossible to achieve, but you can ease your grandchild into that time frame and have fun doing it in several ways.

1. Learn More About Why Physical Activity is Crucial

We often think we know why we should encourage kids to get moving. Healthy movement translates to healthy bodies, right? But did you know that increasing a child’s physical activity has many other benefits?

Physical benefits:

  • Builds and maintains healthy bones, muscles, and joints
  • Increases immunity, protects from common illnesses
  • Boosts energy levels to make it through the day successfully
  • Maintains appropriate body mass index (BMI)
  • Reduces the risk of adult-onset diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease
  • Supports kids to fall asleep quickly and sleep well

Mental and Emotional benefits:

  • Supports optimal mental health and behavior
  • Increases overall enthusiasm for life, like joy, optimism
  • Boosts self-esteem and self-confidence
  • Supports successful school performance, attention, and behavior
  • Reduces incidences of anxiety, tension, and depression
  • Can teach teamwork and social skills when done as part of organized sports

Your grandchild’s history of loss, neglect, or exposure to drugs and alcohol during pregnancy can leave them vulnerable to behavior challenges. A child who keeps their body active to the point of being pleasantly tired can think more clearly and behave better. They’ve had the opportunity to burn off the extra energy buzzing inside from those traumas’ impacts.

2. Build Physical Activity into Your Household’s Routines.

We get it. Time is precious, and adding one more thing to the daily schedule feels like a bridge too far. However, remember that some benefits of regular activity include increased energy and improved behaviors. You can do this, one step at a time, for all the benefits you will experience together.

Take some time to review your family’s routines. Where can you start by adding 15 minutes of physical movement to the day? Would your grandchild benefit from running around the park right after school before homework? Could you and your teen take a nightly walk before dark to catch up and talk? Natural breaks in your daytime routine will show themselves when you look for them. Grab them and make them count for your grandchild’s health!

3. Use The Internet for Good.

There are a variety of apps and online resources that will help you track your grandchild’s minutes per day of physical activity. Getting this child’s buy-in and including them in the tracking process might be the leverage you need to keep them moving closer to those 60 minutes per day. Check out these tools:

4. Join the Fun!

We’ve all heard the adage, “More is caught than taught,” and it’s so true. If you can model healthy physical activity for your grandchild, your encouragement to “go out and play” will be more effective. When you join them in the fun, you will make those messages even more impactful. The added bonus is that you gain extra time for fun together, an almost indestructible glue that will bond you!

There are all sorts of fun things you and your loved one’s child can do together to increase your activity and make great memories while you are at it. Here are a few ideas. Choose a few that match your abilities, you and your grandchild’s interests, and give them a try:

  • Gardening
  • Yoga or stretching
  • Biking, hiking, or walking
  • Dance classes – or dance parties in the kitchen
  • Walking the family dog
  • Horseback riding
  • Activity challenges – jumping jacks per week, miles per day, etc.

Maintain Your Pace

It’s common to be “all in” when you commit to increasing physical activity. Your excitement and zeal can be contagious to your grandchild at first. But when the weather is uncooperative, or a head cold keeps you down for a few days, it can be hard to dive back into it. It’s okay to take breaks for real life – especially if that break means you or your loved one’s child are getting healthy rest.

However, consistency and perseverance should be modeled for this child by easing back into daily movement when the break ends. They might resist or refuse. But be firm in your return to a routine of physical activity.

Talk It Up.

Along the way, your grandchild might feel pressured or overwhelmed by the number of things they must attend to daily. Try to give grace for big homework loads, extracurricular activities, or school projects where you must. After all, you don’t want the encouragement for healthy activity to become a harsh taskmaster. Talk with them about how to balance the load they are facing.

Narrate your experiences of making choices about activities and obligations so that this child hears and sees how to do it themselves. If you see them facing a similar dilemma, ask if they remember how you navigated it and discuss their options with them. Try having this conversation while you take a refreshing walk in the park after school. Again, you are modeling healthy physical activity as a stress reliever while helping them manage their daily responsibilities.

Additional Resources to Help You Boost Physical Activity

These articles and sites will give you additional ideas to support healthy physical activity for kids.