Let's Move It Momma's: raising healthy, active kids and a way to earn an extra entry to virtual 5K prizes!

Hosted by My Fitness World, Lets Move It Mommas, and Living Smart Girl.

Link up and HAVE FUN!!! Follow the hostesses and spread the word about our hop!

**This week, if you link up and spread the word about our hop, I'll add an extra entry to our Independence 5K(you must sign up AND participate in this virtual 5K as mandatory entry, and linking up and adding button/post will give you 1 extra entry for THESE great prizes)**

Raising Healthy, Active Kids...Am I doing enough?

It's no secret that I've battled weight most of my life, especially as a child/teen. When I started my weight-loss journey, I promised myself I would do EVERYTHING possible to raise healthy, active children! Expose them to everything outdoors and encourage them to find what they LOVED to do for exercise! When I taught P.E., I noticed how certain activities excited certain kids and others would cause that child to completely shut down. ?? I know that there is no RIGHT or WRONG way to raise your children, but how do we know that we are exposing our preschoolers to all of the right things when it comes to exercise, fitness and nutrition? Will it be enough? Will they choose jumping, playing, and hide and seek VS. video games and watching TV??

We play outside often...

they join us for our 5K races...

We play at the beach...

...and lots of swimming too! Am I doing enough? I know that I'm being paranoid and it's most likely because I grew up overweight and do NOT want the same for our children...

*An article about this topic that I found on Parents.com :

"When parents promote fitness as an important family value, preschoolers are more likely to remain active throughout childhood -- even as many of their peers turn to television shows and computer games," says Michelle May, MD, an advisor to the American Academy of Family Physicians' Americans in Motion fitness initiative. "One in seven preschoolers is already overweight, and the number rises in the elementary- and middle-school years. Prevention begins at home."
According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, preschoolers should have several hours of free play daily plus 60 minutes of supervised, structured physical activity. Even if your child always seems to be on the go and her weight is healthy now, it's still important to keep activities -- especially the structured kind -- fresh and exciting. A smart strategy: Present your child with a realistic challenge. "It's one thing to say to preschoolers, 'Let's see you jump,'" says Jennifer Romack, PhD, professor of kinesiology and specialist in preschool motor development at California State University, Northridge. "But it's another to say, 'Ooh, this is going to be tricky. Let's see if you can jump and then land super, super quietly. And the next time, let's see if you can do it like you're jumping in peanut butter.'"

What do YOU think about this topic/issue?

Today's Workout: less than 3 mile run outside in the sticky weather! It was great, my oldest rode his bike, youngest in the stroller and we stayed in our neighborhood this time to beat the heat and TRY to find shade from our trees! We were still pretty exhausted afterward, but hey...WE DID IT!!!

Healthy Tip: Give your protein a boost! If you incorporate protein into each of your meals, you'll leave less room for empty snacking (sugary snacks, chips, cookies...)