Imagine a child giggling while chasing his brothers and sisters in a game of tag. Hear in your imagination the delighted laugh of a child who wins the race he had with his parents and siblings. Were you aware that all that running is part of family fun that provides health benefits for both the children and their parents? Families who establish good habits of having active family time enjoy the benefits of better health.

Personal Story

My memories of being raised as one of six children include many hours of playing on our farm with my siblings. We played tag and chased fireflies in the summer and built snow castles and king of the mountain in the winter. We had a great time playing together, but some of the best times were when mom and dad would join us in a game of baseball. Since we had six kids and our parents, we had enough players for two teams! We had a lot of fun and enjoyed some great health benefits in the process.

The Health Benefits of Family Fun

Children benefit from being active. Here are some of the benefits:

Physical Health Benefits

Play improves physical health.

• Prevent obesity and manage weight
• Strengthen bones, heart, lungs, and muscles
• Help reduce diabetes and high cholesterol
• Improve sleep
• Eat good, home-cooked meals together
• Take family walks, hikes, or swim together
• Build immune systems
• Get vitamin D from sunlight
• Encourage flexibility

Mental Health Benefits

Play provides better mental health.

• Boost self-confidence for children as they learn to slide, swing, ride a bike, and gain competence in sports
• Parents who spend time with their children tend to have children who do well in school.
• Family fun builds better relationships between parents and their children.
• Helps children learn to resolve conflict
• Aids children in working through their emotions.
• Builds relationships.
• Reduces depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.
• Lengthens life expectancy from healthy lifestyles and social interaction of good relationships.
• Lowers risk of behavior problems- families who have family time together are more likely to make good decisions.
• Prepares children for being future parents
• Reduces stress and releases energy. Talking about problems together helps relieves stress and helps find good solutions for problems. Physical health conditions like blood pressure, fatigue and heart health might be lessened when people can talk through problems.
• Learning to work in community with others is another benefit

Face-to-face communication is the key. Parents can be present.

How to Have Family Fun

Daily exercise is important. Activities can be offered that are enjoyable and suitable for children or teens. Physical activity is great for children, but activities that also involve parents and caregivers may be even more beneficial. Games, sports, free play, and other age-appropriate activities are ways to get active! Letting the children have a choice gives them a sense of autonomy. Here are some activity ideas to get you started.

• Create a nature collection
• Go on a color or shape walk
• Pretend the ground is lava go across the playground without touching the ground.
• Ride bikes
• Run around the house or down the street as fast as you can
• Teach kids games from your childhood, like hopscotch, Mother May I, or Simon Says

Daily exercise is important. When you cannot go outside, you could try some of these activities.

• Check out indoor play areas that encourage play, as well as large-muscle activity
• Have an indoor snowball fight with sock balls
• Have a treasure hunt by hiding small objects and giving your child directions to find them
• Secure colored paper to the floor and race from color to color
• Use pillows or cushions to create an obstacle course

Physically active children are more apt to become active adults, so an active lifestyle is best encouraged from childhood.

Action

Parents, no matter where play happens, it is important for both children and grown-ups. Play can lower stress hormones and provide many of the same physical benefits for you as it does for the kids. So, play along with the kids — it is good for you!