It’s early March and many families are thinking about spring break or even summer vacations. For most vacationers they are thinking about relaxation and fun in the sun. Other families may be thinking about traveling to big cities or other tourist destinations. Regardless of your travel styles you can still help your child’s fitness while on vacation wherever you end up.
Vacation can help childhood fitness in two major ways. The first we will mention is by exposing your kids to new activities or activities that they rarely get a chance to do. Traveling often opens up new opportunities. Also vacation can lead to more activity than a normal day at home. Children seem to be open to having increased movement and physical activity when it is on vacation and is something enjoyable. Both of these factors can increase the enjoyment of vacation and increase fitness.
Vacation often takes us out of our comfort zone and presents us with new opportunities to be active. My first thoughts remind me of beach vacations and all of the activities that are done there. Some of the common and obvious activities are walking and swimming. Other more interesting activities are surfing, skim boarding and stand up paddleboarding. These activities challenge your children’s bodies in different ways than the norm. By doing this they provide a new control through muscle memory. All three of these activities teach balance and strengthen the core. Often kids will do these things for hours thus increasing stamina and burning calories.
Let’s move to a different type of trip, one that is to a big city. Travel to a large metropolitan city is exciting in itself but if we add adventure to this trip we can take it to a different level and increase our children’s fitness. I will use New York City as an example. Walking is the best way to explore Manhattan. Just strolling from one place to another is enjoyable. Often you end up walking past famous sites just to get to your destination. It is easy to rack up 20,000 to 30,000 steps in a day just walking in a city. Also with the push to make urban spaces more green you can find very nice parks in most cities. The parks in themselves can provide activities like roller blading or rowing in a pond or canal.
One of our families favorite activities on vacation is to bike. We have done hourly bike rentals, daily bike rentals or weekly bike rentals. On one family vacation we stayed about a mile from the beach and rented bikes for the week. Each day started with a ride to the beach. Many cities have dedicated trails for bikes. Riding along Chicago’s lakefront is a treat and can easily go for 15-20 miles or more. If you are in a more rural area you can find routes to bike on Kamoot. Biking can open up new experiences where ever you travel.
A third vacation style that can do wonders for your childs fitness is staying near or in the mountains or going to a national park. Getting outdoors is very rewarding for our mental health and allows us the opportunity to be active. Hiking, mountain biking and paddling can provide opportunities to increase our children’s fitness. Outdoor recreation can greatly enhance stamina. These activities often last for hours. I am not suggesting that you push your kids to their limits but even a leisurely stroll through the woods with frequent breaks can take kids past their usual length of activities. You can read more about the Great Outdoors here.
For adults, myself included, vacation can be challenging for our body composition. Vacation can mean eating out more, higher calorie food and more food than normal. It seems like I always bring home a few pounds as a souvenir. For kids this isn’t always the case. Most kids are not as food focused on vacation but it is something to take into consideration.
If body composition is a concern then plan accordingly. Start by trying to eat out less. Instead of eating out for lunch each day, have days that you prepare your own lunch and take it with you. Instead of eating dinner at a restaurant each night, cook a couple of nights if you are staying somewhere with a kitchen. Vacation should be a time to step out of routine and indulge some. Just maybe have some limits. Order a small or medium cone instead of large or jumbo. Have your kids share a funnel cake as opposed to everyone getting their own. There is a way to have some limits without feeling like our kids are missing out on the enjoyment of being on vacation.
This article is just a starting point. There are so many more opportunities that present themselves when we are on vacation. My challenge to you is to discover what is available and take the time to enjoy something new and different. Not only will you be helping your child’s fitness but you will be making vacation memories at the same time.
