We’re all different. We’re all born different and we all love doing different things. But at the same time – we’re all human beings and we arrive in this world pre-programmed to do a whole lot of physical activity over the course of our lifetimes.
The problem in today’s world is that the absolute necessity of performing such physical tasks no longer really exists for most people in the developed world. So whist our ancestors had to hunt, farm, and perform a thousand and one other physically demanding tasks each day – we don’t.
And at the same time, food is far more plentiful and cheaper, relatively speaking to our incomes, than at any time in history. So even just one generation ago – a roast chicken was a once a week luxury in life – whereas today you can often buy two ready-cooked chickens for a fiver from the supermarket, for example.
Meanwhile – we protein and carbohydrate-craving Homo sapiens can go to any high street in the UK and get instant gratification pretty quickly via McDonald’s or some other place like it.
Of course the upshot of all this is that we’ve become a sedentary and generally obese bunch of people to a level which is completely unprecedented in human history.
Now most of the important behaviours in life are instilled in us during our earliest, most formative years. So whilst some people may be more genetically pre-disposed to gaining weight or being sedentary than others – this can be changed a lot by parental involvement in the early stages. Getting our children involved in the sport they love doing as early as possible is a great way to prevent later sedentariness.
Most youngsters love a ball and for many kids, going on to play football every day, for example, isn’t a chore – it’s just something they love to do. So whilst the Dads and some Mums may be watching the football on TV because they enjoy the game, enjoy a football game and enjoy the post-match analysis etc., the kids may be watching and getting inspired instead. So this kind of sedentary TV viewing may be no bad thing as long as you can get your children to follow it up with some real physical involvement; watching others play inspires children.
The same goes for any other sport of course – but a ball is very often the common denominator; many kids just love ball sports.
For those who lack a little natural coordination, ball sports are still worth playing they’ll do so. But if they hate the very idea – then try and find something the love instead. We’re all different and we all find utility in different activities. But we are all ready to do physical activity if we’re normal healthy children – and as parents, we have the moral responsibility to ensure that a love of physical activity is instilled in our children from the very earliest years. So finding what our children love is the key to success.
