It Turns Out Mom Wasn’t Nagging Me Just for the Heck of it. – by Dr. Ryan Hewitt.
“Get out of the house and go do something!” This was my mother’s plea to get my brothers and me out of her hair so that she wouldn’t have a nervous breakdown. “Go and get some exercise!” she would say. Fortunately, even though in my Canadian hometown of Winnipeg it was twenty below outside in January, I had a public skating rink behind my house where we could go play hockey with neighborhood kids. I’m so thankful that she did this because (wouldn’t you know), Mom always knows what’s best. Aside from the frequent frostbite on my ears and digits (which was my fault for not wearing the toque and gloves my mom told me to wear!), I not only learned how to enjoy exercise and sport as a child, but I also learned how to play with other kids. Two super important values that all healthy children need to understand. Just a fraction of the critical health benefits of teaching your children about being active are :
- Create neurological pathways for coordination and gross motor skills
- Develop vascular health and lung function
- Build healthy bone mass and density
- Learn how to be social and communicate with other kids
- Feel better about themselves and have fun!
Exercise not only builds better children - it also eventually builds better teenagers, and then healthy adults. I can’t tell you how much easier it is for me to lead by example and habitually exercise because I was active as a child. Now, this doesn’t mean that you can’t start exercising now as an adult - in fact, every day you procrastinate exercise is a deposit into your wellness account that you’re missing out on. Exercise is cumulative, just as the compounding interest in your savings accounts. Invest in some exercise by leading by example. Get out there with your kids and exercise with them - get them out of the house and invest some energy. Remember our mantra here at Franson Family Chiropractic: you’re either compounding wellness, or you’re compounding sickness.
Check out this website for exercise that I only wish I was exposed to as a child: http://www.crossfitkids.com/
Thanks Mom:)
Dr. Ryan Hewitt
