Making fitness fun for kids: an interview with Mia Hamm (and a LeapBand giveaway for you!)

My kids have led active lives all their lives.  The Pea started ballet at age 3, and 10 years later, she's on a competitive dance team, taking multiple dance classes 4 days out of 7.  3Po and Jammy are crazy about soccer; they practice 3 days a week and spend their weekends playing league games and tournaments. They walk and bike to school. We walk downtown on the weekends and take them sailing or hiking now and then.

It's so tempting to feel superior and wonder why other kids don't get as much activity -- but different families lead different lifestyles, and getting physical activity can be difficult.  I should know: my childhood was nothing like my kids'.  I led a very sedentary lifestyle as a child.  I was driven everywhere, and although my parents put me in ballet and gymnastics classes, I never really liked them, so I never put in more than a bare minimum effort.  It wasn't until my early teens that I fell in love with volleyball and jazz dance, and in my early twenties that I started running.  So I know how challenging it can be to get into the habit of being active.

To help encourage parents to get up and get active, Leapfrog teamed up with soccer star Mia Hamm this weekend at the first National Fit Made Fun Day in Santa Monica, where families gathered to help set 3 Guiness World Records: most kids making snow angels, most people hopping on one foot, and most people doing a swim dance.  Leapfrog also launched their new kids' activity tracker, the LeapBand™, a new  which records kids' movements and combines screen time with physical games and activities. I had the privilege of interviewing Mia by phone a few days ago, where she told us all about Fit Made Fun Day:

Mia had lots of great suggestions for instilling active habits in kids from a young age.  Here are some of her pearls of wisdom:

• Keep it simple, not too many rules because kids will tune out
• Make it part of a daily routine (bedtime dance party to get the wiggles out)
• Invite friends and family to be a part of it
• Make physical activities a part of family gathering and events (football, wiffle ball game)
• Celebrate physical achievements - go to different parks, go ice skating
• Show kids that you appreciate having fun together

For school aged kids, Mia stressed the importance of letting kids follow the sport that they love, letting them enjoy the social aspect of sports, letting them pursue multiple sports (if they want) so they don't burn out, and being a parent ("a soft place to land"), not a coach. As for kids who don't like sports, even they can still get active!  Mia stressed that getting up and getting active doesn't have to be complicated.  Games and relay races keep kids active, but to them, it's not really a physical activity, it's just fun.  That's where the LeapBand comes in: it's a great way to make fitness fun by turning it into a game.

Win a LeapBand Activity Tracker

Leapfrog is giving away a LeapBand to TWO lucky Bonggamom Finds readers!

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See @bonggafinds interview Mia Hamm & enter to win a LeapBand activity tracker fr @Leapfrog! Enter by 8/24 http://ow.ly/BmAhn

7) Join any open giveaway on Bonggamom Finds (1 entry for every giveaway you join) The Rules This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on August 24,  2014; I will draw 2 winners at random, on August 25 and post their name after they confirm acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here.

  Disclosure: Leapfrog provided the interview opportunity, a LeapBand sample for review, and two LeapBands to give away. The views and opinions expressed here are my own. Tweet this!