Play Together in Celebration of the Winter Olympics
“Families that play together, stay together.” We’ve all heard that. As a mom you haven’t just heard it – you know it’s true. Some of the most memorable times we spend with our kids are when we’re engaged in active play as a family. With the 2014 Olympic Winter Games currently underway in Sochi, we can’t think of a better time to get in the habit of playing more. To help you get started, we have a few tips on how to incorporate more play into your life as a family.
Play Together, Stay Together: Four Tips to Get You Started
1. Try Something New With Your Kids
While you’re watching the Olympics with your kids, they may see sports they’ve never encountered before. Some of them might not be feasible to do as a family, but many of them are fun for all ages. If something strikes your child’s fancy, why not nurture that by getting out there and doing something new as a family? If your child is really smitten by a sport like skeleton, you may not be able to try it, but you can always create a kid-friendly version on a slide at a local park. You don’t have to follow all of the official rules to enjoy some active time as a family.
2. Make Play Part of Your Routine
Make time for daily play together part of your regular routine. Let’s face it – we have lots of things competing for our time. The less you have to think about something, the more likely you are to just do it. That’s true whether we’re talking about brushing your teeth or making time to play together. By something active every day, even if you only have 15 minutes, you’re creating good habits and setting a great example. You’re also helping to make sure that it happens, because it will soon become second nature.
3. Head Indoors
We’ve been incredibly lucky when it comes to weather this winter in Vancouver – but that doesn’t mean we’re always up to heading outdoors in the cold. We also know that rain can come in any season in our fair city. To help you find ways to play together whatever the weather, scout out indoor play spaces in your neighbourhood. Community centres, pools, recreations centres and indoor play places are all great and affordable options. One other benefit of dropping by a regular play time or similar event is that you’ll also make friends with other local families, giving you even more incentive to get out and get active in your community.
4. Celebrate Your Success
No one’s going to give you a gold medal for taking the time to play together as a family, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate your own success. Make sure that you recognize the effort everyone is making to get out and get active – and that includes you, too. Take photos while you play together, and print them out to display. Make note of how your children’s skills improve as they participate in sports and other activities. Get yourself the clothing you need to make playing outside in all weather enjoyable, not just tolerable. Taking time to play together should be fun, so recognize your accomplishments!
Olympians Share
Does taking the time to play together really make a difference? Canadian Olympians say that it does. Short track speed skater and two time Olympic medalist Marianne St-Gelais says, “I’d encourage everyone to spend as much quality active time with their families as they can. In my experience, it only brings a family closer together.” World Champion figure skater Patrick Chan echoes that, sharing, “At a young age I was very involved in a number of sports and I truly believe that being active at such a young age has allowed me to achieve the success and discipline needed to compete and perform at a high level.”
Your own kids may never make it to the Olympics, but taking time to play together every day will still make a difference to them. Get out there and get active!
This article was sponsored by Coca-Cola Canada. Coca-Cola Canada is the proud sponsor of three outstanding Olympic athletes at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games: hockey player Steven Stamkos, figure skater Patrick Chan, and short track speed skater Marianne St-Gelais. When asked about where their passion for sport began, all three credit their families with instilling a passion for active living in them. You can show all of Canada what our Canadian Olympic athletes have inspired you to do on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #inspiredto. Visit coca-cola.ca/olympics during the Games to see your message of support on an interactive map of Canada.
