Exercise or Play?

I have a nephew, Finn, who was born knowing that he is great at everything. No matter the challenge, Finn will attack it with a gusto it seems only children possess. This means Finn is active! He loves all sorts of big muscle movement activities, and can pretty quickly be convinced to run, hop, skip, or jump at a moment's notice. All that activity is like medicine to his developing body and mind, though he doesn't even realize how beneficial it is yet. All sorts of research supports the idea that physical activity makes our children stronger, smarter, and healthier. The great news is that most kids don't mind that physical activity. When exercise is presented as a game or fun diversion, most kids, even those with physical or mental disabilities of some sort, will jump (sometimes literally) at the chance to be included. It's my sincere hope that you can find a way to turn exercise into play for your little ones and that their joy while exercising leads to happy days for you and your children.

Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash

---