I am sharing these these tips on how to find the right exercise for your teen as part of a Playtex® Sport® sponsored campaign for Socialstars #PlaytexSportSquad.
When my son was little, we struggled to figure out how to find the right exercise for him. We were surrounded by parents who were putting their children in ‘Mommy and Me’ exercise programs before they could walk. The kids in his playgroups were already on sports teams by the time they were toddlers. And yes, we felt the pressure to get our kid into that same type of lifestyle. We knew he was going to be tall, so at the age of 3 we handed him a basketball. Which he promptly dropped and went to play in the dirt with a stick and a rock. We put him on a soccer team when he was 4. Only to watch him get side tracked by a cool bug crawling down the soccer field. This pattern continued for years! And did we learn our lesson? Nope! Along came the girl child and we repeated the process over and over again. Poor child spent years playing tennis (which she did not enjoy!) just because we told her she had to. Learning how to find the right exercise for your teen is important, though, because physical activity is a must in order to truly be healthy. I wanted to instill a love of sports in my kids but it took me years to figure out how to find the right exercise…the one that made them truly happy! I thought I would share a few tips that I finally learned after YEARS of struggling to find the right exercise for my teens!
How To Find The Right Exercise For Your Teen
1. Expose them to a lot of sports: Those years of handing our son a basketball and a soccer ball every week were not totally useless. They let us know which sports he did NOT like. We learned that he is not really a team sport kind of kid. He doesn’t like people in his face grabbing for a ball. It took a while but we finally figured out that he LOVES tennis. He is in both group and private lessons now and hopes to try out for the high school team next year. If you want to know how to find the right exercise for your teen, the first step is finding the WRONG ones!
2. Take their personality into account: A shy teen may not really enjoy something like cheerleading where the whole crowd is just staring at her. A very outgoing and hyper teen will probably not really care for yoga which is incredibly slow and quiet, even though it is physically strenuous. Personality plays a huge part in a teens social interactions as well as the type of exercise they enjoy.
3. Make exercise a family affair: Sometimes just having a familiar face nearby makes the experience much more enjoyable. Join a gym together as a family or buy everyone a bike and hit the trails. Not only will having a support system near by make the activity more enjoyable but it will also get the whole family into better shape! If you can’t work out as a family, consider having her get involved in a new sport with a friend.
4. Ask them what their goals are: There are a lot of different sports and activities available for teens and they all offer different benefits. Ask your teen if they are looking to make new friends (consider a team sport), lose weight (maybe running?) or build muscle (join a gym). You want the experience to be positive both mentally and physically. Knowing what their goals are will help ensure they see great results.
5. Make sure it fits with your family life: If you have a baby at home and your teen wants to get involved in a sport that requires frequent travel, that may not fit well with your lifestyle. Consider your budget limitations, travel requirements, and parental involvement before letting your teen sign up for a new sport.
Once your teen finds the right sport you will need to be supportive of their choice. It may not be the one YOU wanted them to choose. You cannot live vicariously through your teen. Just because you were on the football team or made head cheerleader in high school doesn’t mean your child has any interest in those activities. Buy them the right gear and make it a point to attend practices and watch their games. And if you have daughters, please remember how awkward it was to be exercising during ‘that time of the month’! You CAN make it easier for them by supplying them with the right feminine hygiene products!
Playtex® Sport® Ultra Thin Pads with Wings are designed so the pad moves with your body. That means no slipping as you jump, twist, turn, and lunge. Patented technology pulls moisture away and allows air circulation even when exercising. It also has an anti-leak absorbent core which will minimize any embarrassing moments while working out. If your daughter has learned how to use tampons, consider purchasing the Playtex Sport Tampon & Liner Combo Packs. Only Playtex® Sport® has a 360°™ design and FlexFit™ technology that moves the way you move. These are great tampons for swimming, biking, running or whatever your teen’s activity of choice is. Playtex® Sport® Tampon & Liner Combo Packs and Playtex® Sport® Pads make the ideal choice for your feminine hygiene needs during that time of the month.
Want more help learning how to find the right exercise for your teen? Take the Playtex® Sport® “Fit to Play” quiz. The quiz is a short series of questions to help you determine the perfect way for you to stay active. It will also suggest the feminine hygiene product best suited to that sport. No matter what your teen’s ‘perfect sport’ really is, remember to encourage them to PLAY ON for better health!
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Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
I don’t have any daughters, but I am trying to find the sport that my son loves! So far karate is at the top of the list. He loves it and it gives him exercise that he needs.
Both of my kids have found the sports that they really like. For my son it’s lacrosse and for my daughter it’s soccer and basketball.
look at her! all fit and fabulous. such a pretty girl you have there 🙂