While doing cardio activities and living an active lifestyle help maintain a healthy weight, discussions centered on weight loss and decreased caloric intake should be avoided, especially with young children. Conversations such as these can cause depression and anxiety and may lead to disordered eating and body image disturbances.

Being Heart Smart Helps Maintain Energy Balance

Teach children that eating healthy foods gives our bodies energy so that we can be active longer. In the same way, when we are tired from physical activity, we need to put fuel, or healthy foods, back in our bodies to give us energy!

"We get energy from eating healthy foods and use it for physical activity"

There are many activities that improve children’s cardio fitness while developing their motor skills. Try some of these at home:

• Tag
• Chase
• Red Light, Green Light with jumping and hopping commands
• Simon Says with large motions such as “touch the sky” commands
• Swimming
• Riding a bike or scooter
• Dancing

Cardio activities can also be done during non-designated physical activity times such as while waiting for the bus, during a TV commercial or walking from one place to another (hop like a kangaroo or another favorite animal).

Do as I do… not as I say! Be a good teacher or parent role model!