Why kids can enjoy walking

Walking is a great activity that adults love to do after a meal or even on their way home from a day out or work; however, the greatest challenge today is to encourage children of all ages to take up walking to improve their health.

Family Walking

With childhood obesity being a topic of a lot of discussion in the media, walking is one activity that can help children from a young age, especially if an adult they admire can inspire them to take up walking.

So how do you encourage children to take up walking? Simple, make it a family activity to do in gradual steps such as going for a walk on a weekend morning or after dinner on a mild Sunday afternoon.

Walking from a young age encourages a healthy mindset

Having your child, get into the habit of walking from a young age not only makes them aware of regular exercise but also promotes a healthy mindset in which they will continue onto their adulthood.

Experts have revealed there has been a drop in activities made by foot, as parents are using public transport or driving for short trips.

Young children are likely to spend more and more time in front of screens (television, video games, and tablet devices) than take the form of regular physical activity, such as going to the park for a walk or a kick about.

Now, this is a strong case to get a child walking, as the lack of physical activity could lead to a gradual increase in the fat stores in the body, to the detriment of the muscle mass.

By walking little by little, your child will feel tired more quickly and the pleasure of practicing sports will show a reduction in fat stores.

Thus over time, your child will always want to go for a walk rather than spend less time on an iPad or sitting in front of the television.

Key Benefits of walking on your child’s health

The key reasons your children will enjoy walking are:

  1. A sense of being independent when walking
  2. By walking to school your child will have a better concentration span
  3. Like adults, walking improves the mood of your child – fewer tantrums
  4. As your child gets in the habit of walking it will help strengthen the muscles in their legs, feet, and arms
  5. Controls their weight

Make walking a family activity

To sum up, if you are a family that enjoys quality time with your children, why consider walking an activity that you can do together – especially if you are going on holiday thus giving your child memories they can cherish later on in life, plus something a can pass down to their children.

Ironically, when children finish school, why not encourage them to choose the direction to walk to enjoy a healthy after-school snack – this teaches them some responsibility so allowing them to grow and become more aware of what surrounds them.

After walking, or any form of exercise, it is important to cool down gradually, walking on the spot and moving heel through the toe. Always stretch afterwards, to avoid injury.

Overall, walking as a family unit helps build better relationships and great memories when they get older.