Family Activities in Cooler Weather
By Sara Butler
Keeping your family active all year long can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. The key is to find things to do, no matter what the weather, that will engage your family and motivate them to get moving! You should aim to get out and be active together for 30 to 60 minutes every day. Here are some ideas for the cooler weather of the fall and winter to get you started!
Autumn Activities
The weekends in autumn are a great time to get outside and do a little physical activity together. Autumn is a time when the weather changes right along with your eating habits, so it’s a must to get outside together and burn off some additional energy. You can take your kids out for a hike through nature, play a game of flag football or just take a brisk walk after dinner.
Winter Activities
Once the weather turns to snow and ice it can be even more difficult to get out and get going. After all, it’s not exactly weather that makes it easy to jump on your bike and ride around town. But don’t let winter weather stop you from being active as a family. There are a ton of indoor activities that you and your family can do together such as:
- Walk around the mall
- Go to a museum
- Take the stairs instead the elevator
- Play active video games or do an exercise DVD together
- Go to an indoor pool
If you prefer to do stuff outside you can go sledding, skiing, tubing, ice skating or have a good old-fashioned snowball fight!
Family Nutrition
Don’t forget to provide your body with the right kind of fuel to power it through all those fun family activities. You should eat a meal three to four hours before the planned activity and then pack a small snack to eat about an hour beforehand. This will make sure everyone’s muscles are energized and ready to get moving!
Be sure your meals include a good source of protein as well as carbohydrates. You can try a sandwich, pasta with meat sauce, or cereal with fruit and milk. A piece of fruit, a handful of nuts or a cup of yogurt makes a great pre-activity snack.
Don’t let the change in the seasons keep you and your family from being active. Instill healthy habits in your kids and spend valuable time together that will create healthy memories for years to come!