6 Ways to Encourage Foster Children to Exercise
Investigations carried out by the World Health Organisation found that around 80% of children aren’t getting enough exercise, and it’s an issue that’s not isolated to the UK and America; it’s a global issue. The recommended amount of daily exercise is 60 minutes, which can take any shape and happen at any time. As a foster carer, your mandate to provide a healthy environment includes encouraging exercise, even in the face of breaking the mould of bad habits bought forward from their traumatic pasts.
Forward Planning
If you want to be successful when encouraging exercise, you need to think smart and plan effectively to make sure your foster child has a suitable place and enough time on their hands. For example, if they have plans to meet with their birth parents, it’s likely not a great idea to try and force exercise into their routine beforehand.
Be an Active Role Model
When you contact a quality foster agency like fosterplus.co.uk, you’ll be told that one of your responsibilities as a foster carer is to be a positive role model, which means leading by example. Therefore, instead of simply telling your foster child that exercise is important, show them that you see it as important by allowing them to witness you engaging in exercise.
Making it Fun
All children enjoy having fun, so avoid making exercise feel like a chore. A great way to make the experience fun is by involving the entire family in a game of sports, which will help when it comes to forming positive relationships. For example, instead of leaving them alone to play sports in the garden, take the entire family to your local playing fields for a giant game of football, tag, or other active games.
Ask What They Enjoy
Instead of springing random activities on your foster child, which they may not enjoy, put some time aside to ask what they would like to do. Foster children typically don’t have much control in their lives, so giving them control over the exercise they do will empower them and encourage them to engage.
Limit Screen Usage
The average household has plenty of screens around, whether it’s a TV, tablet, smartphone, games console, or PC. Unfortunately, despite these being valid sources of entertainment, too much access to screens can have an impact on the amount of exercise your foster child is doing.
To divert attention away from screens, you should set screen time limits on all devices, which can often be executed through parental control tools.
Don’t Overdo It
Any health professional will tell you about the importance of physical exercise, but they’ll also tell you to know your limits and avoid overdoing it — the same goes for your foster child. Don’t allow exercise to interfere with other activities and school work; talk to a doctor if you’re concerned.
Exercise is an essential part of a child’s healthy growth. As a foster parent, you have a duty of care to provide suitable opportunities for children in your care to get moving.