It doesn’t seem like that long ago that my three kids were ALWAYS outside. If they weren’t playing our own yard, they were riding bicycles with neighborhood friends or each other, playing at the nearby play ground, shooting baskets, roller blading or just about anything active and outdoorsy. Fast forward a couple years and they spend more time hibernating in their rooms, chatting online, or hanging out with friends. I haven’t given up on encouraging them to keep some movement and activity in their lives though!
We are fortunate enough to live in an urban area where we can walk to restaurants, movie theatres, stores, etc. I’ll often bribe my kids with lunch out or a minor shopping trip (or treat them to a movie) on the agreement that we walk the 15 or 20 minutes each way to the activity. Just getting out for a brisk walk is good for both of us and we somehow manage to communicate better when we are side-by-side, moving, and NOT at home.
I also still keep a basket of balls by the front door even though my kids have long outgrown the daily playing. When they are bored, I swear that having that basket with a soccer ball, baseball, tennis rackets, etc. right in plain sight gives them the notion to go “shoot hoops” or challenge someone to a sloppy game of tennis at the nearby courts. I do get tired of looking at the sports accoutrements, but I’ve seen how just having them handy encourages my high schoolers to “go out and play.”
Some teenagers also respond to a gym membership, so if that’s in the family budget, it can be a good way to keep teens physically active. Working out at the gym is more “grown up” and something they can do with a friend or two.
Keeping teens active can be tough. Since high school sports are geared toward elite athletes, and physical education classes are not the required norm any longer, it seems teens have less opportunity for “organic” activity in the course of their every day life. It takes a little creativity to nudge them into activity and keep up those healthy, active habits from their younger childhood.