|
Want a Better Relationship with Your Teens? Exercise With Them!
According to Natalia Petrzela, author of “Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession,” the magical place where kids and parents enjoy their time together is wherever the “gym” is. What she means is that whether you’re running, swimming, taking a class, or, yes, exercising in a gym, doing it with your teenagers connects all involved.
Despite needing to develop independence, kids, during their teenage years, want a connection with their parents. Exercise provides a healthy framework for many activities. While Professor Petrzela emphasizes “gym” activities, many others (from hiking and biking to pickleball) provide the same connections.
(Did You Know? The Journal of Affective Disorders in 2023 found that respondents who exercised with their children were happier and had better relationships with them, particularly their teenagers, than those who didn’t exercise.)
She says that this doesn’t preclude kids from playing competitive sports or parents from giving up going to Pilates. With planning, both can exist. One point is that gym routines have a better chance of surviving into adulthood than organized sports.
As with most parenting lessons, the value of exercise is best taught by example. This has not only been true in my family, but my kids also take pride in their cooking like their old man. The more they learn by example early in life, the more likely they are to continue it into adulthood.
-WSJ |
