What are your tips for getting a bookworm to be more active?

[Sahamamama]

My 8.5 year old loves to read, do crafts, play with her dolls, and just chat. ;) She's adorable, but I'm thinking of how to encourage her to be more active, without actually saying, "Go run around the yard some more."

 

You know how some children just move and move and move, all day, every day? Well, this kid is not one of those kids.

 

When she plays outside, her sisters run around the entire time, but she investigates a pine cone or examines the clover. She's really not as fit as she should be, for eight. I just hate to have to "force" her to move, because I expect she'll act like I'm killing her, or something. As in, "[Pant, pant], I'm out of breath, just let me catch my breath," or "[Pant, pant] My side has a stitch." :svengo: She hates to sweat. ;)

 

I would like to keep her activities separate from her younger twin sisters. When she runs backyard races with them, they always win. It's discouraging to her, and she quits and sits. I'm thinking of working individually with her on the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, but the website is frustratingly circular.

 

https://www.presidentschallenge.org/participate/ed-homeschoolers.shtml

 

I'd like other ideas to consider. Any advice?

[Barbara H]

Any chance of building a one on one thing that's a special tradition she does one on one with a parent? It might be tennis or basketball at the park, bike rides, hiking at the arboretum or nature preserve - something where she may be motivated to participate as a bonding or togetherness activity. If she tends to be goal directed something like the Presidential Youth Fitness program might work. Less physical kids often do well at more individual type of sports (such as martial arts) where they can make progress without so much being in competition with other kids.

[Sahamamama]

Any chance of building a one on one thing that's a special tradition she does one on one with a parent? It might be tennis or basketball at the park, bike rides, hiking at the arboretum or nature preserve - something where she may be motivated to participate as a bonding or togetherness activity. If she tends to be goal directed something like the Presidential Youth Fitness program might work. Less physical kids often do well at more individual type of sports (such as martial arts) where they can make progress without so much being in competition with other kids.

 

Funny you should mention this, as I thought of it after I posted. I walk on the treadmill nearly every morning, because it allows me to exercise whether or not my husband is home and no matter what the weather.

 

I wonder if we could get my daughter something out in the garage, too -- an exercise bike? Perhaps we could work out together? Hmm...

[Ellie]

Dance of some kind? Ballet, highland, Irish...?

 

Gymnastics? Ice skating?

[Amy Jo]

As a bookworm child, I became much more active after starting Taekwondo. Hmmm, maybe I should restart.

[Momofeat]

I have a bookworm daughter, too, and I know all about the complaints & "injuries" that go along with forced exercise. I kind of force it anyway. 

 

My dd loves to watch tv, so she has to earn tv minutes by exercising or playing actively outside. If she exercises with me, she earns 2 minutes for every one minute of exercise. If she's on her own, 1 minute=1 minute. She cannot earn more than 2 hours in a day, unless we have a special family movie planned.

 

We've been doing this since the beginning of our summer break, and the complaints have lessened. :-) 

[5LittleMonkeys]

I have a bookworm daughter, too, and I know all about the complaints & "injuries" that go along with forced exercise. I kind of force it anyway.

 

My dd loves to watch tv, so she has to earn tv minutes by exercising or playing actively outside. If she exercises with me, she earns 2 minutes for every one minute of exercise. If she's on her own, 1 minute=1 minute. She cannot earn more than 2 hours in a day, unless we have a special family movie planned.

 

We've been doing this since the beginning of our summer break, and the complaints have lessened. :-)

You are a genius. Seriuosly, I love ths idea. How do you keep track? A chart of some sort?

[PeachyDoodle]

My dd8 is also not a high-energy type. I've seen all the panting, "injuries," and complaints, too. (And, if I'm being honest, I remember being exactly the same way as a kid. Okay, as an adult.) She is also terrified of bees and refuses to go outside without an escort. I take a water fitness class at the Y, and this summer she has been participating with me. It is an adult class, but the teacher is fine with her being there, as long as she works and isn't disruptive. This has been a good way for us both to get some exercise, and it is easy to modify the intensity for her level in the water. She feels proud that she is "keeping up" with the grown-ups. Plus, she gets a few minutes after class to play. If you belong to the Y or a gym, it's worth asking if they would allow her to join you in any of the classes. Some places might even have classes for kids.

 

I love the exercise-for-TV idea!! Brilliant!

[Ravin]

I was a bookworm child with younger twin sisters who were much more actively inclined than me.

 

Does your 8yo. have a bike? And have you gotten her eyes checked recently? The former because the bike was my big mover as a kid, and the latter because sometimes a nearsighted child will tend to focus on sedentary activities because they can see what they're doing then and may not even realize that they don't see as well as they should.

 

ETA: She's probably too young for it as yet, but getting myself to the library regularly was a big motivator to get me active from age 10 onward.

[Desert Strawberry]

We do a lot of active family activities-hiking, walking, playground, sprinkler, splash park, mandatory outside time, as well as tennis lessons, swimming, roller skating, etc. Exercise should be fun. I would encourage you to help her find something that she enjoys, that doesn't feel like exercise. 

[Mabelen]

For my older dd, who was exactly as you describe, the one thing that she enjoyed was dancing with the Wii. I managed to get her interested in taking formal flamenco dancing lessons and that is a great work out.

[Lieutenant Stranger]

Put her in a sport. My daughter turned 9 this weekend and she is a total bookworm, just like you describe.

 

We have her in swimming. It keeps her active. It gets her outside, with other kids and in the water (where she can't complain about being "hot"). I'm perfectly happy with her fitness levels now, though we still have to pull her out of her cave to rejoin society at points.

[Ali in OR]

My kids have always pursued some physical activity in more formal programs--gymnastics, softball, ballet, soccer. For my bookworm, the activity she loves is ballet. She's not going to be a professional by any means, but she's good enough to keep progressing and it keeps her active. We also do a bit of running as a family. 5K races are a lot of fun, even if you're not fast. My youngest and my dh are pretty fast and finish about 10 minutes ahead of my other dd and I. But we're still having fun at the back of the pack and feel like we've accomplished something big when we finish a race. Couch to 5K is a good training program. Around here we have a Girls on the Run program that I've heard good things about--they train for several months and then have a 5K at the end.

[MinivanMom]

Help her find an activity she's interested in. Most bookworms don't like the competition or aggression of competitive team sports, but there are many other things she could try. Give her a long list of possible activities (dance, martial arts, gymnastics, ice skating, swimming, tennis, hiking in the woods, etc) and then make her choose one.

I personally think that certain children (think the shy, slow-to-warm, bookish type) really benefit from taking formal classes.  If you don't have a lot of confidence in your physical abilities, then direct instruction (how to plié in a ballet class, or how to kick in a karate class, or how to hit the ball correctly in a tennis class) is a huge help.  This just isn't the kind of kid you can throw onto a soccer team and expect her to jump right in with the other kids and learn by doing.  Not every kid thrives that way.  Classes and instruction can really help build confidence for this type.

[PeachyDoodle]

I personally think that certain children (think the shy, slow-to-warm, bookish type) really benefit from taking formal classes.  If you don't have a lot of confidence in your physical abilities, then direct instruction (how to plié in a ballet class, or how to kick in a karate class, or how to hit the ball correctly in a tennis class) is a huge help.

 

:iagree:

[Miss Mousie]

I was a less active, but not unhealthy, bookworm.  My mom would sometimes force me to "run laps" around the house.  I hated every second of it.

 

I would also have hated being forced into group sports or classes, whether competitive or individual. 

 

I might have tolerated a treadmill; I liked riding my bike and taking walks with my parents.

 

I would have loved just being left alone.

[Jen in PA]

I was a bit like that as a child, but there were lots of chances to exercise built into my day -- walking to and from school, plus recess twice a day! That doesn't work as well for homeschoolers. When my kids were younger (they are 8 and 10 now) I instituted an "out for an hour" policy: as long as it wasn't storming or frigid, they had to spend an hour outside every day. I don't monitor the times strictly anymore, since there are days they barely come back inside, and others when they barely venture out, but I figure that it balances out now that it is an ingrained habit. The main things they do outside are ride bikes and play in our yard or neighbors' yards. They also read outside, and I am fine with that -- DS will take a book up a tree and read right there.

 

They also like doing the open swim at the Y, and our Y has certain times when kids 8 and up can exercise on some of the fitness equipment as long as the parent is next to them. We haven't tried this yet, but now that DS is old enough to join in we just might.

[duckens]

 

Sahamamama says:

but she investigates a pine cone or examines the clover.

You've just answered your own question.

 

You have a nature child.  Hiking is her future favorite activity.

 

Go for daily walks or bike rides around the neighborhood to become fit for longer weekend hikes at a state or county park.  This means you, too, Mom.  If it's important to you to get this daughter active, do it together first thing in the morning.

 

Be sure to take along little bags to collect nature treasures (if it is allowed in your area).  Buy a big plastic tote to put under her bed (or in a specific place on the back porch or in the garage) for all of the rocks, pine cones, and feathers she brings home.  Save an ice cream bucket for old nests that blow down.  (They are fragile, and need their own container).  Get a pocket camera for photographing killdeer nests (on the ground) or a specific bloom.  Start buying bug cups in bulk.

 

Make sure that she is a competent swimmer, so as she grows older, she can participate in canoeing, kayaking, and other activities on the water.

 

Find a rock-climbing class for kids.

 

Encourage birdwatching, and hike out to the birdblind at the nature center.

 

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MinivanMom says:

I personally think that certain children (think the shy, slow-to-warm, bookish type) really benefit from taking formal classes.  If you don't have a lot of confidence in your physical abilities, then direct instruction . . . is a huge help.

 

This is the age for learning new things!  And nearly everyone else in the class is new, too.

 

Throw the rec center flier at her, and tell her to pick something.  She may love it or hate it, but if she isn't exposed to it before age 18 (tennis, swimming, golf, softball, martial arts), then she most likely will not use it as a way to be active and healthy as an adult. 

 

Dd6 spent two weeks hating Tennis this summer.  Okay. She hates tennis.  We'll cross that off the list, and we'll try golf next summer.  Or soccer.  Or basketball.

 

Offer Martial Arts as an option.  It is a good fit for many quiet, thoughtful, noncompetitive children.

[Elfknitter.#]

Help her find an activity she's interested in. Most bookworms don't like the competition or aggression of competitive team sports, but there are many other things she could try. Give her a long list of possible activities (dance, martial arts, gymnastics, ice skating, swimming, tennis, hiking in the woods, etc) and then make her choose one.

I personally think that certain children (think the shy, slow-to-warm, bookish type) really benefit from taking formal classes.  If you don't have a lot of confidence in your physical abilities, then direct instruction (how to plié in a ballet class, or how to kick in a karate class, or how to hit the ball correctly in a tennis class) is a huge help.  This just isn't the kind of kid you can throw onto a soccer team and expect her to jump right in with the other kids and learn by doing.  Not every kid thrives that way.  Classes and instruction can really help build confidence for this type.

  

 

As a former bookworm, I agree. Just be sure that the formal instruction actually does teach. We had ds in a judo class and wound up pulling him because the class size hit about 40 students and instruction was given as if the kids were in an upper high school or college class- that is either you watch and learn or you flounder. Ds floundered, so we tried karate. That class is almost 10 kids and works much better for him.

 

 

You've just answered your own question.

 

You have a nature child.  Hiking is her future favorite activity.

 

Go for daily walks or bike rides around the neighborhood to become fit for longer weekend hikes at a state or county park.  This means you, too, Mom.  If it's important to you to get this daughter active, do it together first thing in the morning.

 

Be sure to take along little bags to collect nature treasures (if it is allowed in your area).  Buy a big plastic tote to put under her bed (or in a specific place on the back porch or in the garage) for all of the rocks, pine cones, and feathers she brings home.  Save an ice cream bucket for old nests that blow down.  (They are fragile, and need their own container).  Get a pocket camera for photographing killdeer nests (on the ground) or a specific bloom.  Start buying bug cups in bulk.

 

Make sure that she is a competent swimmer, so as she grows older, she can participate in canoeing, kayaking, and other activities on the water.

 

Find a rock-climbing class for kids.

 

Encourage birdwatching, and hike out to the birdblind at the nature center.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

This is the age for learning new things!  And nearly everyone else in the class is new, too.

 

Throw the rec center flier at her, and tell her to pick something.  She may love it or hate it, but if she isn't exposed to it before age 18 (tennis, swimming, golf, softball, martial arts), then she most likely will not use it as a way to be active and healthy as an adult. 

 

Dd6 spent two weeks hating Tennis this summer.  Okay. She hates tennis.  We'll cross that off the list, and we'll try golf next summer.  Or soccer.  Or basketball.

 

Offer Martial Arts as an option.  It is a good fit for many quiet, thoughtful, noncompetitive children.

This. Exactly.

 

Also, as a not so competitive or wanting to do vigorous sports person, I wished public school P.E. had included yoga. I admit, I stray from exercise but when I do get back to it, I always return to yoga. But it was never taught in PS. If vigorous activities don't interest right away, start with something slower like yoga or walking. Then try more challenging forms of yoga or learn to walk fast.

[Laura Corin]

Family exercise?  At various times, based on the age of the children, I pushed one in a stroller while the other pedalled his tricycle; had one on a tricycle and the other running while I walked fast; had both running while I walked fast; had both running circles around me while I walked.

 

Another option is looking into some kind of exercise she might enjoy: if she likes nature, then local walks with rangers/volunteer cleanup, etc.

 

L

[Sahamamama]

I was a bookworm child with younger twin sisters who were much more actively inclined than me.

 

Does your 8yo. have a bike? And have you gotten her eyes checked recently? The former because the bike was my big mover as a kid, and the latter because sometimes a nearsighted child will tend to focus on sedentary activities because they can see what they're doing then and may not even realize that they don't see as well as they should.

 

ETA: She's probably too young for it as yet, but getting myself to the library regularly was a big motivator to get me active from age 10 onward.

 

Thanks for posting this. I find it helpful, because you hit the nail right on the head.

 

Yes, my daughter is extremely nearsighted. In fact, I think this is main reason she "became" a more sedentary child. We really had no idea she couldn't see until one morning at church. We knew she could read the words on the screen, but she said she only saw gray blurs. So...

 

That was when she was just five years old. Her eyesight seemed to have changed without us noticing???? Sigh. Her prescription is quite strong, for an 8.5 year old. The eye doctor said that it isn't caused by reading too much -- just genetics. He said lots of people make that connection and think the reading causes the nearsightedness, when it is as you say, the other way around. Kids who have a hard time seeing far away tend to not want to run around so much.

 

Yes, my daughter has a bike. I'll work at getting her on it more often. What I was thinking would work for her in many ways is an exercise bike, and the offer to "workout with Mommy." ;) She would like that, I think. Just time with me, while we chat and sweat, LOL, and accept our mutual clunkiness. Really, it's okay.

 

Then the outdoor stuff might come more easily (she's not fat, though), simply because she's gotten used to moving more.

 

I love this little bookworm.... curled up on the sofa with a book, or crafting away, or drawing in her room.

 

Thanks for any and all ideas.

[Sahamamama]

My kids have always pursued some physical activity in more formal programs--gymnastics, softball, ballet, soccer. For my bookworm, the activity she loves is ballet. She's not going to be a professional by any means, but she's good enough to keep progressing and it keeps her active. We also do a bit of running as a family. 5K races are a lot of fun, even if you're not fast. My youngest and my dh are pretty fast and finish about 10 minutes ahead of my other dd and I. But we're still having fun at the back of the pack and feel like we've accomplished something big when we finish a race. Couch to 5K is a good training program. Around here we have a Girls on the Run program that I've heard good things about--they train for several months and then have a 5K at the end.

 

Thank you for mentioning Girls on the Run. Now that we know about it, this is part of what we will do. We have a GOTR league in our county. :)

[BetterthanIdeserve]

A local marathon has a kids marathon. The kids run/walk in whatever they increments they are comfortable with before race day - they are supposed to do 25 miles and have a chart to fill out. On race day they run 1 or 1.2 miles to finish their marathon. It took doing this and "training" with another family twice a week to get my daughter moving more.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

 

Do you live near a library?  I love my trailer!

http://www.discountramps.com/kids-bike-trailer.htm?CAWELAID=1642147581&catargetid=1389811204&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CI7ByvPUtrgCFVNo7AodVQcA8Q

 

They're on Craig's List all the time!

 

I also thought about making fun physical units based on books she likes.  And you could send her on scavenger hunts into the trees.  Tree climbing is physically demanding.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

We struggle with this too. My oldest has enjoyed a rock climbing class that's offered at our local gymnastics center, and she likes doing yoga and will do it on her own (but LOVES to do it with me). Hiking is good too, but then that's limited to when I can get out with her, and the weather has to be cool enough because neither of us handles heat well. 

[Hedgehogs4]

My bff has a 12 yo dd who is exactly as you describe, and always has been. Both she and her dd started Cross Fit recently, and the dd has improved in this area tremendously. It took her a while not to complain or try to quit in the middle of workouts, etc, but when mom sort of started walking away and letting the coach push her a bit, she totally blossomed. She has lost weight, is getting super fit, and loving the process of getting stronger. CF is not dragged out, boring workouts -- it is in and out and you're done! 

 

I have a similar 8 yo dd, though she has an older brother who keeps her moving a bit more, and she loves CF, as well. She goes only once a week because I don't want to burn her out on it, but she has made friends in the class and keeps going back willingly, even though sometimes she complains. One day it was a paper cut that hurt and she couldn't concentrate on her workout. You know, she made it through--paper cut and all!  :lol: