The reality of the situation is that we’re getting fatter and more sedentary with each passing generation. This holds especially true for young people. Many are growing up in front of the computer and the TV. If this is the way someone is brought up, it is very difficult to then become the kind of adult who likes to jog, play racketball, and swim laps. We have to get off our collective duffs and start moving. We have to do it for ourselves, and for our kids.
I feel fortunate that my own kids are the kind who happily amuse themselves outdoors in an unstructured kind of way: skipping, swimming, bike riding, scootering, stilt-walking, running and jumping over the cracks in the sidewalk… these are all things my girls love to do. And I love that they love it. If they’re active at this age, they’re more likely to be active at any age.
As Miss Vicky kindly reminded me, May is Physical Activity Month in Ottawa. We Ottawans have been given a challenge, to walk for 30 minutes every day. A lot of us already do a lot of walking. I certainly do, but I’m not sure if it adds up to 30 minutes every day.
So the kids I are taking this as a personal challenge and will be doing it every day. Apparently there are some prizes to be won too. Yay for prizes!
As an added bonus someone had the wonderful idea of instituting a “try it” week at participating rec centres. You can try fitness classes for free. Yes! Really! And Dovercourt (my local rec centre) is one of them. Is that cool or what?
