Community Corner

Five Things: Short Bursts of Activity for Your Family

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta offers tips to keep your family in shape.

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We’re all pressed for time, so we know it can seem overwhelming (and sometimes even impossible) to get your family active for 60-minutes a day. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Dr. Stephanie Walsh share Strong4Life’s Five Short Bursts for Play, which when mixed and matched, can quickly add up to 60-minutes a day!

  • 20-Minute Family Walks: Take a family walk (bring the dog if you want!) and during the walk, you can challenge your kids to walk backwards or sideways, skip, hop on one foot or take giant steps to add some fun.
  • 20-Minute Family Dance Parties: Having a family dance party is an easy (and fun) way to add 20-minutes of activity to your day: When you are watching TV as a family, get up and move during the commercials — try running in place, dancing or jumping jacks.
  • 15-Minute Family Bike Rides: Get your family together after dinner for a quick 15-minute bike ride: Make it a rule to leave the television off one day a week — this encourages physical activity and outdoor play. Switch out different activities each week — anything from riding bikes to building an obstacle course inside.
  • 5 to 30-Minute Where You Are Movement: Whether you park at the end of the lot at the mall (adding five minutes of activity to your day and save your car from a few dents), take the stairs instead of the elevator at the office or a store or, while at one child’s sports practice, grab your other kids and walk around the field for 30 minutes instead of sitting in the bleachers, it all counts so move when you can!
  • 5-Minute Chore Challenges: Challenge your kids to have a race to see who can mop the floor in five minutes: Making these responsibilities fun will help your children get active and they may even look forward to chores.
  • We know most families are busy and it is difficult to squeeze in some activity each day, but it's important to be active for at least 60 minutes. Little changes in your daily routine will quickly add up to 60 minutes of activity. Learn more about what simple changes your family can make.

    This article was prepared by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and edited for publication. 

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