Introduction
Fitness journals. While the two words together may sound even more challenging, it really is not. Fitness journals help kids stay on track and focus on the exercises and physical activity assigned to them. This is of vital significance in the 21st century, primarily due to the increasingly hectic daily schedules of children. Even if they fall off the wagon, it will be much easier to get back on track. Fitness journaling also maintains a record and schedule of sports and daily exercises, along with repetitions, sets, and calories burned.
This way, the primary fitness goal and steps left to reach it feels attainable and worth committing. It is the ideal way to develop a healthy hobby while engaging in fitness. While initially fitness journaling may seem overwhelming to kids, with this guide and your help they will be pros at it in no time. But how to teach kids to create and maintain a fitness journal? Here are 8 steps to creating and upkeeping a journal focused on fitness for your children.
8 Steps To Creating And Maintaining A Fitness Journal For Kids
1. Find A Suitable Journal
It is important to find a suitable journal first. For younger kids, go for colorful and bright pages. For your older ones, try classy, sophisticated journals. A fitness journal that reflects your child’s persona and goals will appeal more to them and keep them committed.
2. Schedule Their Week And Pen In Fitness
Begin by scheduling their weekly routine, from school to mealtimes to tuition. Try to carve out leisure time or switch things around to give fitness or sports a consistent time daily. It can be early morning or late evening. But ensure there is some time contributed daily to fitness.
3. Provide Fun Journaling Equipment
Kids will engage more in fitness journaling and even be interested in the exercising part if they get to decorate and make things aesthetic and fun. Let your kids use different colored pens, sticky notes, pictures and more to enhance the experience.
4. Hit Daily And Weekly Fitness Goals For Stickers
While it is your duty initially to write down their exercise regime, calculate calories burned and repetitions and sets to be practiced, teach it to them as they grow older. Also, let them tick off their daily and weekly fitness goals. This will provide them with a sense of attainment and confidence, while you get to approve and monitor it daily by awarding stickers.
5. Reward Their Goal Attainments
If your child is diligent with their fitness goals and journaling, then it is ideal to practice positive reinforcement and reward their achievements. For example, if your child hits more than 25 stickers a month (one for each successful day of fitness and journaling about it), then take them to an amusement park or buy them some sports gear they wanted.
6. Write How They Feel Regularly
Children must express their emotions, both positive and negative, in a proper manner. Any sort of mental repression can cause poor mood and low energy levels. To avoid this, make your kids write how they feel before exercising and after exercising daily into their journals to keep let them keep track of their emotions and express them fruitfully.
7. Practice Fitness Journaling Daily
It is imperative to schedule fitness journaling into your kid’s daily routine. You do not have to force it, but they should engage daily with it. Checking off every fitness exercise they complete, noting their emotions, and using fun stationary to track their fitness goals should be enjoyable for kids. This will motivate them to automatically achieve their fitness goals without much pain, only dedication.
8. Record And Track Improvement
It is important to record and track your child’s fitness goals and achievements. Each mini goal they attain and every fitness journal they fill will be available to read and refer to. This will not only help parents plan better fitness goals for kids but also encourage children to see how far they have come in terms of their fitness journey.
Conclusion
Fitness journals are no magic trick or aesthetic hobby only. They require diligence, sincerity, and discipline from children. But those are not necessarily bad things, just serious ones that kids do not understand at a tender age. Therefore, it is important to mix in some fun and make fitness journals appealing and entertaining for kids.
From buying a suitable journal to choosing interesting stationery to go with it, all of it makes the act of fitness journaling seem less intimidating. Therefore, all parents need to do is hold on to their patience and guide kids as they bumble their way before falling on track. Once your child understands the art of fitness journal and synchronizes their day and schedule with it, your worries will end. Then your child will be responsible for their own healthy emotional expression and physical fitness.
References
https://malpaper.com/blogs/news/journaling-for-fitness-how-to-create-a-fitness-journal
The views expressed are that of the expert alone.
