Getting Active

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Hi, my name is Jamie Davis in addition to being a mom I'm also a registered dietitian. I work with families in teaching me how to eat healthy and be active. I hear all the time from parents that the kids are sedentary and spend way too much in front of the screen. So today, I'll be giving you solutions on how to get your family moving. If it was up to my children they would spend twenty four hours a day watching television playing video games, on the computer, they would spend every waking moment looking at a screen. Did you know the average house spends between 4 to 5 hours in front of the screen during the weekdays, and up to 8 hours in the weekend? It's not surprising, given we live in a world surrounded by TV, video games, and computers. So we're not suggesting that you turn these things off altogether. Instead try cutting screen time in half while you're at home. Here are three ways to do it: First, don't turn on the TV on the second you walk in the door. Second, don't let your kids eat in front of the TV. Instead have them eat at the dinner table. And third, limit your kids to watching just one or two of their favorite programs a night and remember this includes computer and video games. So now that you've turned off the TV, here are some ideas to fill the time and get your kids moving. Make exercise family time. You could go on a bicycle ride, you could take a walk around the block or you could head to the park. You could also try enrolling your kid a program that promotes activity such as: team sports, dancing or karate. Another thing that I found works is the pedometer game. You give each family member a pedometer, which is a small device that counts steps, and try to see who get the most steps in a day. Not only will your kids think it's cool to compete against you, they'll love the technology piece, and it will get you moving too. I hope one of these suggestions work for you and your family. Bottom line: keep it simple, get your kids moving and most importantly, have some fun.