Getting Your Teen to Exercise

While all parents want their kids to be  healthy, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to actually get their kids to move. Teens, these days, prefer junk food over healthy alternatives and as if that is not bad enough, they take part in no physical activity to make up for their unhealthy eating habits – the result being a rise in obesity. In an era dominated by television, computers, smartphones, video games and what not, entertainment for teens now, largely, revolves around activities for which they need to remain glued to the couch. It is more about using fancy gadgets rather than going outdoors and getting some fresh air into their systems. Parents are now sick of telling their teens to adopt some healthy activities – an effort which goes all in vain. However, here are some tips which you can use to motivate your difficult teen to get going without actually having to tell them, repeatedly, to go to the gym.

Organize Family Activities

You can organize family camping, hiking or biking trips over weekends. This can help ignite a spark of interest in your teens, for such rigorous physical activities; at the same time allowing you to interact with them more.

Become Involved

If you have been an athlete yourself at some point in time, it would be a good idea, for you, as a parent, to get involved by coaching a particular sport that you’re good at. This would give you a chance to get closer to your teen as you help him grow on the field.

Make use of Physically Demanding Video Games

If your teen is a real video game junkie, you can get him or her to play the video games which require a little more physical input such as the Dance Dance Revolution game. The player, actually, has to mimic instructions and dance in order to play this game.

Adding Activities to Chores 

You can add physically demanding tasks like washing the car, mowing the lawn or gardening to the chores assigned to your teen. This is, probably, the easiest way to incorporate some physical activity in there, otherwise, dull routine.

Act as a Role Model

Going by the “do what you preach” rule, it is important for you to be physically active yourself, before you can tell your teenage kids to get their act together and make a move. You must therefore lead by example and your teen will be sure to follow soon.

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