Creative family fitness ideas

Q: Do you have any suggestions to help me motivate my family to be more active this summer? I want my children to avoid a summer of video games and Internet surfing and really spend more quality family time having fun and staying fit.

A: You have the right idea. It’s a fact that families who exercise and are active together lower their risk of obesity and other related medical conditions. But busy schedules and the many available forms of entertainment have put exercise on the back burner. With creative thinking, you can get your family up, moving and having fun.

■Begin by making time within your family’s busy schedule to meet together. This may be challenging at first, but do your best to get the whole family to participate.

■Be creative with the type of activities you find for your family to do. Get everyone involved in the planning so the interests of each family member are included. Be sure that each family member can participate in the chosen activities. If you have children of widely varying ages, be sure that the youngest to the oldest can all enjoy the activities.

■During the summer you can move the fun outside. Walk or ride bikes after dinner. Swimming, skating and roller blading, and sports such as tennis, golf and basketball are great ways to get moving.

■Also consider trying something new. The whole family learning a new skill or activity can keep everyone’s interests. Look into different activities such as indoor/outdoor rock climbing walls or surfing parks. Take lessons to learn the basic skills for a more enjoyable experience.

■Other ideas include signing up for a charity 5K road race. The family can run together while helping a good cause. Most 5 kilometer races (about 3 miles) offer kids’ runs — shorter distances for younger participants. This allows you to include the entire family, no matter what the age.

■Although your question involved staying active during the summer, you’ll want to continue these habits year-round. Make it a part of your family’s lifestyle to stay active with each other when possible. When summer ends and your schedules become busier again with school and other responsibilities, continue to find time to play with each other — even if it’s for shorter periods. An overall healthy lifestyle for your family is an activity for all seasons.