Moving Your Indoor Kid Outside

Welcome to the information age, a time where the average person consumes 12 hours of media each day. That’s half a day spent attached to multiple devices, when it could instead be spent outside.

Spending too much time indoors can be detrimental to your health. So how do you talk your children into going outside and your spouse into investing in some outdoor gear, like a home basketball court?

Effects of Staying Indoors

The prevalence of overweight children (ages 6 to 11) has more than doubled since 1980. Obesity in teens (ages 12 to 19) has more than quadrupled in the same time frame. The more technology and inside activities increase, the less of a draw there is to get moving. A child will spend 10.4 hours a day relatively motionless, putting their health at risk. 

By staying inside too long your child does not get enough vitamin D. There are many issues with vitamin D deficiency, a few being increased risk for heart disease, diabetes and unhealthy bones. Just ten minutes a day in your yard or on your home basketball court can give you the proper daily dosage of sunshine.

Poor mental health has been shown as a result of not spending enough time outside. When children spend too much time with television and phone screens, they miss social interaction, physical activity and even sleep. This results in high stress levels and higher anxiety, which can lead to an unhealthy adulthood. 

How To Bring the Inside Kid Outdoors

A great way to increase time your child spends outside is by creating an environment in which they can do what they love. Perhaps your child is a self-proclaimed bookworm. If that’s the case, having a patio where they can sit and read is a perfect fix. Sitting outside is the perfect gateway to getting moving with bikes, balls or home basketball courts. 

Involving your child in outdoor chores can be an excellent way to get some sunshine. Not only do they spend time with you, but they also get to see what happens to your yard after an honest days work. Their effort will work wonders for your yard.

If they can’t move outside without your motivation, create a mandatory “green hour” each day for the whole family. This way, you can gather on something like the home basketball court and spend time with each other. Not only will it get them moving, but it will also make it easier to talk about your days and really get their appetites ready for dinner. 

Kenadee Hatch is an athletics writer for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Sport Court. Follow on Twitter.