Active Family Activities

Who has spring fever?  The temperatures are rising, the trees are in bloom, the flowers are beginning to show their colors and the kids are getting antsy. It's the time of year when the house empties out and the kids come in dirty, but it's also the time of the year when we can help our kids understand just what it means to lead an active lifestyle.

If you're hoping to use this season as a way to introduce your children to an active lifestyle, think about adding some of these free and fun activities into your daily or weekly routine.

1. After dinner walks: Don’t tell my children, but I've found after dinner walks are not only a great way to add some exercise into our lives, but also a great way to get them to open up about their day. Sitting across a dinner table isn't always the ideal environment for good conversation. But when we're walking side by side, the words seem to flow better. I love the walks because it kills two birds with one stone.

2. Hiking: While walks in our neighborhood, local parks or even across the University of Maryland campus are fun, I've found it adds another level to our workouts if we head for the woods.  It also gives our children a chance to see other areas of Maryland.  I go online and look up hiking trails, or pick up a book from the library with a list of trails and we go explore both locally and statewide

3. Rollerblading: Rollerblading is a great sport for the whole family. It's faster and requires more skill than walking, but it adds a little excitement to working out as well.

4. Soccer: Don’t open the trunk of my car unless you're prepared for soccer balls to roll out -- we keep them in the car from March through November. Whenever there's down time, my kids think that means soccer time. Throw a couple of balls into a field and kids will come from every direction. Homemade goals will be made with backpacks and jackets, and a game will ensue.

5. Cycling: Biking is my very favorite free family activity. While we can bike close to 60 miles by going end to end on the Anacostia Tributary Trail, we tend to use cycling the same way we do hiking. Cycling offers us an opportunity to see other parts of the Maryland, and even neighboring states.  It's an all-day activity and if we pack our lunches, it's absolutely free. 

Though the world has changed and free play hardly seems to exist anymore, children were born to play. They were born to run around having fun. Cycling, biking, running, and soccer may seem like workouts to us, but for our children, they are play time.