Things To Do On School Holidays

Keeping kids busy and active can be a challenge at any time but with school holidays close by this can become an even greater challenge.  Here are some tips and ideas for you to consider to follow on from our post entitled “Keeping Boys Active in Winter”.  Most ideas are relatively cheap, will get them out of the house and as they are just a little bit different, they may get to experience something new.

·       Go ice skating; it is great exercise and fun.  Some ice skating rinks offer a free lesson so this can be ideal for the novice skater.  Also, as a parent and for those who are not too keen on skating, you can take a break in the café while watching your kids skate around.

·       Tenpin bowling is becoming popular again and most places are bright, colourful and designed to entertain.  Plus if you or your kids need some extra help, you can put up the bumper bars to stop the balls going down the gutter or alternatively, use the ball ramps so kids of any age and strength can participate.

·       Have a movie day or night where you hire a couple of dvds so your kids and their friends can be entertained.  Great for those cold wet days plus with popcorn, the kids are sure to have lots of fun.

·       Horse riding is another great activity for your kids that they may not have done before.  Most places will have ponies for the small kids that are under the control of a handler and will allow longer rides for the older kids. 

·       Get a couple of simple recipes and get your kids to try and cook or bake something.  Scones can be a good start plus they can eat what they cook.  While this can get messy make sure they also clean up after they have finished.

Obviously there are so many other ideas but the challenge can to try and make it interesting, maybe educational and possibly give them something new to experience as it might spark an interest or passion that may stay with them for life.

Benefits Of Sport

As your child grows and develops, the benefits of participating in sports and physical activity can be significant.  Research and studies have shown that participating in sports can have a significant and positive impact on the development of your child that includes physical health, social, fitness and mental health benefits. 

Learning to be part of team, helping others achieve common outcomes, getting a sense and understanding of fair play as well as learning new skills associated with the actual sport can build up a child’s confidence and self- esteem.   Many sports also help develop communication and leadership skills as well as self-discipline and goal setting.

Clearly there are health and fitness benefits that are not only immediate but help in later life as active children are more likely to develop into active adults.  These include reducing blood pressure, maintaining a healthy weight, lowering cholesterol and building bone density that helps prevent osteoporosis later in life.  Regular activity associated with organised sports can also reduce the risk of depression, assist with better sleep patterns and build up self-confidence.

It is also important as a parent or a coach that you are mindful of the safety implications of the sport.  Many sports, whether they are contact or non-contact can result in injuries and these can be more prevalent as your child is growing.  As such, it is important to ensure that safety equipment is used in training as well as during the competition, proper warm ups occur and that your child doesn’t over train.

Getting the balance right between studies, playing computer games and sport can be a challenge but the benefits of getting your child to participate in sport are significant and can have a major influence throughout their lives.

Boys Are ‘Crafty’ Creatures At Christmas

There is possibly nothing better than showing kids how to create things from very little. Indeed, it is the art of making Christmas gifts, especially for boys, that will often follow them into adult life where they will use skills learned from way back when to make things in their very own homes, etc.

It can be tough deciding on what boys will actually like, but anything that involves making a mess is a sure fire winner! Most boys like anything slimy and messy so be ready to clean up afterwards. However, if it encourages their creative juices, does it really matter?

One such project, which is not messy at all, is the Paper Bag Reindeer. This is easy to make and doesn’t take much hunting around for ‘ingredients’. There is a guide at About.com that will show you how to make your reindeer.

All you need is a brown paper bag, some soft coloured cardboard like project paper and decorative elements like little bells and pompoms.

Don’t make your boys stick to the same style of decoration. Let them experiment so try to have a mix of craft items available for them to work with. They will have fun with this one.

Lastly, available from the same site, is a Candy Cane Mouse Holder. This clever little trick allows boys to learn the craft of sewing while they are making a gift for someone. The mouse looks quite cute when finished and the candy canes actually form the tail of the mouse. You will need a hot glue gun for this one, so you’ll have to help them out.

There is no need for your kids to be bored at Christmas time - whether in the lead up or even the aftermath. Get them involved in making decorations and fun Christmas-related crafts and you’ll all have fun.

Exercise - Boys And Girls Do It Differently

We are all probably aware that men and women are very different when it comes to losing weight. Women struggle through the week and have a miserly one kilo weight drop. Men seem to slide through the week and they drop four kilos or more! But how does it work for children?

According to research reported in the NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey report, primary schools girls tend to be less active than the boys. 52% of boys do the right levels of physical activity, as compared with 41% of girls. This also may account then for there being more obese girls than boys at present.

To counteract this, sports teachers are recommending that the sexes should be segregated if only for these exercise sessions. They suggest adding diversity to the range of exercise and sports activities on offer.

It makes sense. If you think about it, much of the sport is very physical and involves strength as well as speed. Think about games like football or softball. Often boys tend to excel at these while girls lag behind.

Girls love skipping and activities that need coordination rather than strength. A cool way to get kids up and moving is to give them something to do that is fun. Trying out zumba lessons will get any girl on her feet. The report suggests adding zumba along with yoga or pilates as forms of exercise to interest girls.

Yes, most boys will run a mile at the thought of ‘dance’ exercise but what’s the problem with that? A run will do them good, too!