This Whole Week WeShare Awareness & Ways to Connect Over:
National Exercise with Your Child Week
Every year, the first full week in August is “National Exercise with your Child Week,” in the United States. Whether you’re an expectant parent or a well-established family, health and wellness practices should be given adequate thought, attention, and care. Health and wellness requires discipline, repetition, and thoughtfulness around incorporating something new into one’s schedule, but that doesn’t mean exercise has to be boring, dull, daunting, or tedious.
The Good News: Wanting change is the first step towards transformation
There are plenty of great reasons to want to join-in on Exercise with Your child Week! Making time for physical activity is something the whole family can participate in!
The Bad News News: You won’t see instant results
In a society used to fast, quick, and instant results… Physical activity and getting into shape can be a bit daunting, especially when it takes much longer than 1-day, 1-week, 1-month to achieve lasting wellness and fitness.
We urge you to take a different approach and viewpoint: wellness is a lifelong journey, it’s a relationship with yourself, every day.
1. We Want the Best for our Children
Have you ever thought about the habits our children pick up from us? We teach our children to be polite, kind, thoughtful, and inquisitive… Exercise and wellness can be lent to the same category: Lifelong habits towards wellness and fitness, paired with a healthy outlook on one’s relationship with food, enables children to make better decisions their whole lives. If you think about it, it’s an amazing and beautiful legacy a parent leaves, through their children.
2. Slow & Steady Wins the Race
Don’t set yourself up for failure by setting lofty goals for you and your family. If you’re a busy family like most, it’s hard to completely shake-up one’s schedule. Our best suggestion: DON’T! Setting realistic and achievable goals is important, if you can only devote 15-minutes here or there to family-fitness time, be proud of the progression and change!
3. Healthy Habits Grow Over Time
You might be amazed at how much of a difference a small change can make! Small changes are often the encouragement we need to continue towards seeking out further growth, health, wellness, and overall life.
As Christians, we are encouraged and called to live our lives, exalting and fellowship in the name of the Lord. And the more thankful and grateful you are towards life, the more cognizant and considerate of life you become, healthy habits compound.
4. They Remember What you Repeat
“I knowwwww,” says the moody teenager as you repeat a gesture of protection…
It comes from a place of love, and they may not appreciate it today, but your voice will be a voice of reason in the back of their mind, always. If you remind your little ones to drink water, exercise regularly, and spend life, in-general, being active, they will remember! You may even hear them, later down the road, reminding those they love the same healthy habits, too!
5. Change Can Always Start Today
It’s important to remind, and remember, to be patient with oneself, even if the family has an “off” day. The Lord will make a day of rest for you, if you do not make time to take care of your mental, physical, and spiritual wellness. Don’t be too hard on yourself for deviating from your plan: Today is always a great day to get started, always better than tomorrow.
Pay Attention to Health & Wellness by Starting Healthy Habits this Week:
Tips to Plan the Perfect ‘Exercise with your Child,’ Week
- Schedule or plan a walk / run for charity: This is a great way to get the whole family involved towards a great cause you believe in!
- Create a weekly workout as a family: Set aside time to be active, as a family, as you can. Get creative and come up with new and exciting activities.
- Engage with a pre / post-dinner walk: Staying active after a heavy meal can aid in digestion before bedtime.
- Turn housework into active-work: Get the whole family involved with chores around the house; look for ways to make cleaning, chores, and yard work fun, engaging, and a learning experience.
- 5. Discuss the WHY: It’s important to teach children why we must live a certain way; be patient and show love, care, and attention where it matters most!
Other Creative Ideas!
Next Week:
Up next, join us for more information on #MentalHealthMonday, our mental health series with Brittney Moses! Next week, we will discuss National Wellness Month. Follow along the UHSM blog, newsletter, and more, today!
UHSM Perks for Improved Physical Wellness
In addition to this blog series, UHSM offers members different perks to improve their physical, spiritual, and mental health. When you sign up with one of our Healthshare memberships, day one you receive membership perks such as a free subscription with partners and organizations that integrate wellness through a holistic approach.
Fitness & Wellness Membership Perks:
- FitBod – An app for specialized workouts and motivational planning.
- Noom – Built for healthy habits around food; a new way to look at dieting.
- Pray.com – Rated as the #1 prayer app; new content is added regularly, to include prayer, motivation / stories from the bible, and more.
- Brittney Moses – A mental health advocate, supporting an integrated approach to mental health, one which teaches others how to use faith for health and wellness.
Members receive free, memberships, resources, and perks to a variety of partners, all of which aim to improve member’s mental, physical, and spiritual wellness. What a trifecta!
Connect & Engage with us for More Mental, Physical, & Spiritual Wellness:
Follow along for more content about the perks, news, and more ways to connect with our community of Believers. #WeShare perks, community, and connection with our members.
