5 family activities to get you moving

Engaging your children in a health-promoting lifestyle should be a priority for every loving parent. But if you want healthy kids, you have to get trim and healthy yourself. Here are five simple and fun activities that will get the whole family moving.

• Here's a great way to keep the family fit and teach your children about trust, teamwork and problem solving at the same time.
• Take them to a local park and set an expedition course on a map, circling various "checkpoints."
• Take turns navigating to each point on the map and leading the team to each destination.
• "Start out with an easy course in an open park, then progress to a trail system," suggests musculoskeletal physiotherapist Claire Small. "Stay together and explore terrain features, study map clues, and look for the secret treasure."
• Sound too complicated? Then go hunting for insects, animals or flowers.
• You can't entertain a young child much better than finding a slumbering beetle under a log or rock.

• Rather than the typical pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey birthday party, hold your child's birthday party in an active location, such as a roller skating or ice-skating rink, a ski or climbing centre, or an indoor "soft play" area.
• You don't have to limit this to parties.
• A growing number of indoor playgrounds offer structured games every week. Or you can have your own "no particular reason" party.
• Children might not think of what they're doing as exercise – but it is.

• Get together your backpack, plenty of water (everyone should aim to drink one cup, or 250 millilitres, every half-hour) and a light lunch and head to a local trail for a hiking expedition.
• Wear hiking boots for rocky terrain or running shoes for smoother paths, and pack sunscreen and insect repellent.
• To make it more fun, get children to focus on something else, such as looking for a particular animal, climbing to see a lake or pond or seeing how many rocks you can scamper over without touching the ground.
• Children like hiking much better when they don't realize it's about hiking!
• Bring a picnic; this is a great opportunity to share a delicious but healthy meal.

• Raking leaves, pulling weeds and spreading out mulch all help to build strength and endurance.
• Plus, when your children help, it doesn't take as long or seem as much of a chore (depending on the age of the child, of course).
• There are numerous ways to make yard work more fun for children.
• For instance, when you finish raking a pile of leaves, you get to jump in them.

• Grab some table napkins in two colours.
• Divide your family into two teams and ask everyone to tuck one of the coloured napkins into his or her waistband.
• When an opposing team member pulls a napkin from the ball-carrier's waistband and places it on the ground, the play has ended.
• Allow only 20 seconds to prepare for the next kick-off. Switch positions every 15 minutes to keep the entire family active.
• Not only will you get in some family fitness time, but you'll also be teaching your children valuable lessons about practice, perseverance, cooperation and teamwork.