How to inspire my children to be physically active

When I think back on my childhood in the ’90s and early 2000s, I have bittersweet memories. I am often disappointed that I let those special days of my life go by the way they did. I spent day after day, for hours on end, glued to my computer chatting with “friends” I have since lost contact with. I was not physically active or doing much in my community.

I often wonder what could have been done to inspire me to be more physically active, or to at least spend less time on the computer. While I do not solely target my parents for my inactive childhood, I do give thought to my parents’ behavior.

I understand parents are busy and need a break during their time off from work, but I do wish my parents were a bit more physically active themselves so I could have had someone to model after.

My mom actually spent much of her free time on a computer (and she still does to this day). She volunteered a lot, but often would take on the office-related tasks of creating fliers, newsletters and spreadsheets. Whenever she was home I would often see her in her small office typing away on a computer or talking on the phone with someone. She usually always turned down going on a hike whenever we, her family, invited her.

My dad was not very inspirational either when it came to being physically active. He was overweight and often spent his days off lounging around the house. I do give him credit for at least going on a hike whenever we asked if he wanted to go.

Surprisingly, my dad used to be a competitive cyclist when he was young. He would tell amazing stories of cycling up a steep mountain and then coasting down the other side. I often wish he still cycled to some extent, not just for his own health but also to be an inspiration to me. He no longer cycled at all and let himself go.

My mom did attempt to a degree to have me be physically active. She enrolled me in various sports when I was young, from tennis to soccer to basketball, but I often became bored and quickly dropped out.

My family never watched sports at home, and I never saw much significance in them. It is not surprising that I did not stick around long, especially when the summer days are so hot in Southern California.

I did become more physically active in high school because sports were readily available after school and were a popular talking point on campus. During the fall season of my freshman year I played volleyball, and then played tennis during the fall season for the next three years.

I loved tennis when I was in high school. It was fun to play with my classmates and to travel to other schools to compete. I often wished I had stuck with tennis practice when my mom enrolled me when I was seven, then I would have been much better at playing in high school.

Sometimes I wonder if more effort had been made into inspiring me to play tennis, perhaps I would have decided to continue playing at a young age. Maybe if my parents played tennis, or if I had been taken to a tennis tournament to see the fame and glamour, I would have been more inspired to stay.

Now I am a parent myself to a daughter who is almost three years old and have another baby on the way. I frequently think about how I can inspire my children to make the best of their childhood and to be more physically active.

There is even more pressure on me now regarding this subject with the onset of smartphones that I have seen consume the lives of children. At least during my childhood I only had access to technology when I came home to a desktop computer!

Currently I am planning to be a bit different from my parents by trying to be more physically active around my children. This may be easier said than done at the moment, especially when I am not exhausted from working a full time job, but it is still on my mind.

When I am able to, I hope to pick up a sport. I love tennis, long distance running and cycling, as well as dance and aerial silk. If I am too swamped to commit to a sport, at least I will do fitness training or yoga sessions at home. I hope that if my children see me being active, they will be more motivated to be active.

I would also like to inspire them more about sports by letting them see into the world of sports more than what I did when I was their age. Perhaps I will take them to a professional game to see the athletes and hear the cheers of a large crowd, or go to a ritzy resort where they can see the finer side of sports.

One thing I loved about tennis when I was in high school was the fashion. I liked the spandex uniform complete with a skirt. I also liked seeing what the professional tennis women players were wearing. Maybe, just maybe, being tipped off about the fashion when I was younger would have perked my interest in playing. If I saw a sparkly pink tennis racket, or shiny tennis uniform, I may have had more interest.

On a final note, I also consider having a heart to heart discussion with my children about how I spent my childhood glued to technology and wish I had done something different. When I was young no one sat down with me and gave me food for thought about how I was letting my childhood go by. If someone had brought it up, maybe I would have chose to spend my time differently.