The Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) are committed to promoting healthier lifestyles for kids across the country through their Triple Play program, a dynamic wellness program that demonstrates how eating right, keeping fit and forming positive relationships add up to a healthy lifestyle. This post was sponsored by Boys & Girls Clubs of America as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
Where we live in New York, our winters can be long, boring and inactive if my husband and I are not on top of our game. With two school-aged kids, we need to make sure that we have interesting ways to keep them moving throughout the chilly season. After years of trial and error, we now know that our kids are always happiest after they’ve gone outside to play and had a healthy dose of fresh air. So it’s up to us, as their parents, to make sure that they spend some quality time outdoors every single day – even if they don’t want to.
One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to reverse our “homework first, play second” schedule during the winter months. Since it gets dark out so quickly after school, we let them shirk their homework in lieu of running around outside to play basketball, climb on the swingset, chase the chickens, or play with the dogs. I love hearing them yelling to one another outside and running around the yard. After a long day at school, it’s a great, unstructured way to let them burn off some pent up energy. By the time I call them back inside, it’s dark out and I can make dinner while they do their homework at the kitchen table behind me.
It’s a small lifestyle change like this that really makes a lasting impact on their health in the colder months. By switching up our “homework first, play second” routine, they get to be outside for an hour or two instead of just doing their homework and then plopping back down on the couch afterward. By giving them time to play while it’s still light out, I ensure that they’re moving their bodies every single day. Not only does this help them physically, but it helps them mentally too, as they feel so much better after they’ve let off some steam.
Unfortunately, kids don’t always get the encouragement they need to be active and make healthy lifestyle choices. This is why the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) are committed to promoting healthier lifestyles for kids across the country through their Triple Play program, a dynamic wellness program that demonstrates how eating right, keeping fit and forming positive relationships add up to a healthy lifestyle.
Triple Play, sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company and the Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, BGCA’s first comprehensive health and wellness program, strives to improve the overall health of members, ages 6-18, by increasing their daily physical activity, teaching them good nutritional habits and helping them develop healthy relationships. More than one million Club members have participated in Triple Play since its introduction in 2005.
In a study conducted by Youth Development Strategies, Inc., researchers found that Triple Play:
- Helped youth meet the recommended physical activity standards by increasing the percentage of youth engaged in exercise for one hour or more at least five days a week;
- Increased activity among girls by two hours per week and decreased the percentage of youth who were relatively inactive; and
- Improved members’ feelings of mastery and control over their lives
Triple Play is currently available to some 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs serving over 4.2 million youth in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It’s also available in some domestic and international U.S. military installations.
Their Triple Play Parents Game Plan is a FREE tool that can be used at home – where healthy habits start, are modeled and reinforced. 
Download the Game Plan now.
Find more information on the BGCA Triple Play Website, Facebook and Twitter.
How do you keep your kids active during the winter months? Share your ideas with us!
Denine
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