Family Fun and Fitness

I am probably giving away my age here, but I can remember a time when we all ate dinner at the same time, we didn’t have more than 300 TV programs to choose from every day, children did not spend their after-school hours playing video games, sitting in front of computer screens, or chatting on cell phones. When I came home from school, if weather permitted, I was expected to play outdoors. We would go to the playground, play ball, jump rope, ride bicycles, and play running games.

Kids today are often stressed out by many hours of homework and the pressure to take college level courses for advanced placement. I have heard of children getting by on only a few hours of sleep each night because of excessive homework and even skipping lunch in order to take on such a demanding curriculum. Frequently both parents are at work outside of the home, and there is no parent to see that the child engages in healthy outdoors activities during the after-school hours.

Today’s children are more likely to be found playing video games, surfing the web, watching television or the VCR than engaging in sports and healthy recreation. As a result, we have seen a rise in both children and adults in such lifestyle diseases as obesity, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes—disorders that are preventable and even treatable by attention to both diet and exercise. A recent survey showed an increase in prescriptions in young people for high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

In a message from former Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, M.D., for the Shape up America program, Dr. Koop states: “A survey conducted by Shape Up America has revealed that child care responsibilities are interfering with the efforts of many families to get more exercise and at the same time we know many children are now overweight or obese. The solution is a commitment on the part of the entire family to spend more time together. I encourage you to choose activities you can do together and support and reward each other’s efforts to be more active at home, at school, at work, and in your communities. I urge you to replace the use of food as a reward for good behavior and offer to take a walk with your child instead. The pleasure of your company is the best reward your child can receive and the best gift you can give.”

This is excellent advice indeed. Start a family fun night and take turns choosing an activity. The family can engage in both indoor and outdoor recreational activities depending on the time of year. Remember that not all activities have to be physical. Board games are always fun for the family to play and encourage thinking skills, strategy, eye/hand coordination, and most importantly family togetherness. Choose a variety of games that are appropriate for all ages and skill levels involved in order to keep the chosen activities interesting and fun for all . Remember that the "family that plays together stays together." For more information visit: The Family Gamer/

Helene Zemel, M.A., M.B.A., has been blogging and writing about family health and fitness. She is the owner of The Family Gamer which is a site devoted to family recreation. This site has a special section devoted to children's sports and activities: Kids Recreation.