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Do you why so many American children are overweight? Children in the US are wasting too much time in front of televisions, computers, and video games. If your child comes home from school and plops himself down in front of the TV, you’re setting him up for a lifetime of weight problems. The following list of ten activities will give you a point of reference as you come up with ways to get your child active.

Join a local sport team or club. Tennis lessons. Volleyball. Sign your child up for a jogging club. Anything that gets your child up and moving counts.

Put together a friendly scavenger hunt. Coordinate with other parents in the neighborhood or apartment complex and set up a list of things your child and his friends need to find.

Borrow a neighbor’s dog. If you don’t have your own pet that needs walking, volunteer your child to walk the neighbor’s dog for exercise.

Gather together a bunch of neighbor kids for a big, multi-property hide and seek game. If your kids are older, set up a flashlight tag game for after dark.

Buy outdoor games such as crochet, horseshoes, and badminton. Set up the game and invite the cousins over.

Pass out jump ropes and hold a competition. Buy a couple different types of jump ropes so you can have chinese jump ropes, long jump ropes, and individual jump ropes. Offer rewards for the best jumpers, things like bubbles or bouncy balls.

Sign your child up for active summer camps. Check out your community website or paper for inexpensive, fun programs.

Hand over the mowing responsibility. If your child is ten or older, he or she should be able to do it.

Pull out the old Twister mat. See who is the most flexible of the bunch.

Take your kid for a walk. Or hop on bikes together. Or put up a basket ball hoop and start teaching him or her how to shoot. If you use exercise as a way to spend time with your children, they’ll be more eager to participate. Be the example you want your child to grow up to be, and watch their enthusiasm grow!