Getting Active Starts with Baby Steps

Physical activity is critical to our health. Long ago, before childhood obesity was a crisis, we were more active each day than we were sedentary. It’s no wonder that 75% of adults today are overweight or obese. Sadly, children are also more sedentary, less playful and now seeing serious weight side effects too. In fact, research tells us 25% aren’t active at all on most days! Well, being active is one of the biggest ways adults, and children, can reverse those trends.

Think about our own day. We sit in the car. We sit in our office. We sit to eat. We sit to communicate with friends via Facebook. Then, we sit to watch TV. By getting active, in any way, we can get rid of some of the excess calories we take in and begin to live a healthier life.

You may not feel like getting up and moving. I’m there with you some days too. But, we need to think of small ways to be active to build stamina. It’s kind of like learning to walk again, literally, or training a dog. You have to start with small efforts first because you can’t do it all in one day. You’ll get tired when you start. Five or ten minutes might be all you can handle at first. Maybe you want to garden; that’s physical activity, and bonus—you get something beautiful! Maybe you want to simply walk around the block. Pretty soon you’ll be good at that and can increase to two blocks or more.

With children, the same rules apply. If they’ve never been active, it’s too much to have them try to run a mile. They’ll fail or feel miserable, then not want to do it again. We also have to keep in mind that while we, as adults, truly need to set aside time to “work out” or consciously be active, kids don’t. They don’t need to work out. What they need is to play and have fun. That way, activity becomes enjoyable, not a chore. Making a game silly is a great way to start. Some kids—those we most need to encourage to be active—are afraid or shy because they aren’t all that coordinated. (Only because they haven’t had as much activity to gain those coordination skills.) So, encourage silliness like playing soccer with a beach ball or go on a scavenger hunt outside. They’ll be laughing and active at the same time.

We can take notes as adults. Don’t think of being active as a “workout”. Find something silly or fun that gets you moving (dancing is great for that) and do it 5-10 minutes at first. Even better, find time to walk with a friend. You can eliminate the need to sit down to Facebook them AND be active at the same time!

–Melissa Hanson, Säjai Foundation CEO/President

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