Help your kids get serious about playing healthy

Swimming, lacrosse, hockey, track, rock climbing, karate and volleyball are only a few of the sports your child could participate in this year. Whether your child is involved in an organized team sport or individual sport, takes P.E. at school or enjoys active play with friends on the weekend, you probably know that staying physically active is an important part of good health, and a great habit to develop in childhood.

While keeping your child active, encourage some other healthy habits to go along with exercise.

For outdoor activities year round and especially in the summer, help your child get into the habit of using at least a 30 SPF broad-spectrum sunscreen and reapplying it regularly as directed on the bottle.

Sports drinks are popular and are supposed to replace the salts and water lost through sweating during exercise, but replacing those salts is usually only needed when physical exertion is going to last more than an hour. Also, most sports drinks contain a lot of sugar that kids do not need. Encourage your child to stay hydrated by drinking water and set a good example by doing the same. Only use sports drinks if the game or practice is going to last more than an hour.

Provide your kids with healthy after-practice and post-game snacks like string cheese, yogurt, nuts, carrots, bananas or nice, juicy summer fruit that will also help them rehydrate. Physical activity often increases kids’ appetites so keep stocked up on healthy snacks.

Beware of head injuries. Multiple concussions add up to brain damage, so encourage safety first. If your child gets hit in the head hard enough to hear it, make him fall down, or make him want to cry or rest momentarily, pull him out of the sport for the rest of the day and get him checked out.

If your child plays soccer and is old enough to be allowed to head the ball, talk to the coach about teaching the kids to chest the ball instead. If your child’s sport is cycling, baseball, hockey or skateboarding, make sure he or she wears a helmet to protect that noggin.

Sometimes my daughter complains her helmet is too hot. I make it clear that she either wears the helmet or she does not get to do the activity. It also helps to point out cyclists and professional athletes you see wearing helmets.

Talk with your kids about learning to push their limits and discover untapped talents while also paying attention to what their bodies have to say and learning to know when to back off to prevent injury.

Encourage your child to report injuries and respect how much time his body may need for healing. Let him know that if he does not let an injury heal, he may worsen it, which could mean missing out on months of sport instead of a week or two. Help him find other ways to stay fit that do not aggravate the injury during the healing process. If he is on a team, perhaps attend games and practices and participate in a way that may continue to encourage team bonding while still letting the injury heal completely.

Kids are likely to have fewer injuries and less burnout if they participate in a variety of sports and activities, so be supportive of trying out lots of activities. And encourage them to have fun. If they learn to enjoy physical activity as a child, they are more likely to continue that healthy habit as an adult.