Hey mom, getting and staying in shape is important for you - but your workouts may be more important for your children. The reason; your babies are inexorably drawn to follow your fitness example - for good or bad. How you manage your personal fitness and nutrition has a ripple effect that spreads across your entire family.
Your “personal ripple effect” may be one of the most powerful forces shaping your children’s mental and physical development. Consider the following:
We are products of our environment. We gravitate toward what we are repeatedly exposed to. It's a simple matter of repetition. The more we see, hear, use, eat something the more it becomes ingrained in our psyche. In fact, social scientists believe environmental repetition may have an effect on gene expression and can literally change your biochemistry.
The power of suggestion is strong. The power of repeated suggestion is practically unstoppable. So if you’re making poor fitness and nutrition choices at your age, it’s likely your children will be making the same choices when they reach that stage in their lives.
“When Junior sees Dad parked in front of the tube and digging into a bag of chips, it's hard to resist the same lifestyle. And chunky Mom plus chunky Dad often equals chunky kids”, said Dr. Lynette Martinan Owensboro, pediatrician.
The evidence is compelling. Your example, your behavior, your habits are being absorbed by your children at warp speed. The secret is making it a blessing instead of a curse.
It’s never too early or too late to start. In our StrollerFit classes we see the impact of consistently exposing infants to their parents' exercise examples. As they grow, they embrace exercise as a natural, fun part of their lives. Our first generation of infant StrollerFit participants is now 8 years old. Their parents still credit the StrollerFit exercise experience with building the foundation of their children’s active, healthy lifestyle - and their own.
You have the power to influence the health and fitness of your children for a lifetime. The fitness habits you help them build will keep serving them long after you're gone. I can think of no better gift to leave your family.
So how do you do it? It’s a day-to-day process and a series of repeated small steps that add up to awesome health habits. Every time you choose the apple over the chips, a walk over a ride and an active game over T.V. you’ve just made another donation to your baby’s lifetime health and fitness fund.
It’s your personal ripple effect in action…
Curt Conrad, CSCS, is Founder and President of StrollerFit Inc. an international product and franchise company that helps parents exercise with their babies. He is author of The StrollerFit ExerBook. His companies have helped thousands of clients enjoy better life through better fitness. http://www.strollerfit.com
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