LIFESTYLE NEWS - Exercise and physical activity helps kids feel less stressed, have higher self-esteem, focus at school, sleep better and maintain a healthy weight.

The days are shorter and colder – winter has officially arrived. While it is tempting to snuggle up on the couch with your little ones, cups of hot chocolate and rusks at hand, it’s important to factor in some active time.

Exercise helps kids feel less stressed, have higher self-esteem, focus at school, sleep better and maintain a healthy weight. You’ve probably noticed too that parenting children who get enough exercise, is easier than parenting those who don’t – incentive enough?

Make exercise fun
But when it’s cold and dark outside, how do you get your kids to exercise? “It’s simple,” says primary school principal at Cape Town’s Riverside College: “Make exercise fun. If your kids see you making an effort, they’re likely to buy into the idea too. Physical activity should be seen as an essential part of your child’s daily routine.”

Fun, exercise, winter in the same sentence? Walk the dog, take breaks every hour and do jumping jacks. If you have a set of stairs, see who can walk upstairs backwards the fastest, park in the furthest parking lot at the mall, so that you have to walk a distance to the entrance.

Get up, get moving, get active
“Find a way to incorporate exercise into your normal daily activity, make it become a part of your routine,” says Miss Arbuckle. “Moderate activity increases brain activity and generates endorphins to help your kids stay motivated and positive at school.”