Helping your kids to be active will have a positive impact on the rest of their lives. Over the last four weeks, Jude has been testing out the Garmin vivofit jr 2…

It may not come as a surprise to you that when I was a kid, I was mega sporty! I loved athletics, team sports and dancing. I’ve always had a lot of energy and being active has always been a part of my life. I learnt so much from sports. It built my confidence, it helped me to make friends, it showed me how it feels to lose, and even as a child, sports taught me to be disciplined.

Now that I am a Mum, I really encourage Jude to be active and enjoy sports too. Kids look up to their parents, they often mimic our behaviour because they want to be just like us.

Being a kid in 2017 is pretty mad. They have everything at the touch of a button. They have iPads, Netflix, Spotify, and hours of entertainment on Youtube. There’s no denying that over the last two decades, tech innovation has changed the way we all live our lives. A lot of this can be educational and it’s aweomse that our kids have access to so much info. (I’m sure that Jude has learnt a lot from watching lego ninjago). However, it means that it can be hard for parents to encourage an active lifestyle, especially if they are not very active themselves.
In the UK, a third of children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school. It’s really important to encourage healthy habits as part of their lifestyle. Small things like walking to school, scooting to the park or going swimming, are all great ways to get your kids moving.

Jude has endless energy, he’s always on the go, so I definitely don’t need to worry about him getting his daily steps! But Jude often finds it hard to focus and to concentrate on one thing at a time. Doing activities like swimming, gymnastics and karate can be really good for kids development as well as boosting their self esteem too. Sports is about so much more than simply the physical benefits.

Both Rob and I, both wear activity trackers. So Jude was so excited to try out the Garmin activity tracker for kids. He’s been wearing it most days and he absolutely loves it!

Jude chose the Star Wars themed tracker. It has a personalised display, it’s completely waterproof and the best thing is that the battery lasts for a whole year! So we don’t need to remember to charge it. The tracker has a daily target of 60 ‘active minutes’ each day and you can also add your own mini challenges too. It’s really easy to use, Jude actually showed me how to set the timer.

Being a six year old is so exciting! It’s fascinating to see how Jude is growing up and to see his interests develop and change. Setting little daily challenges is a great way to encourage him to celebrate every success, no matter how big or small.

Initially, I thought that Jude might get bored of using it after a few days, but he’s still keen after wearing it for four weeks. Unlike me, he doesn’t have a single competitive bone in his body, but, he still likes to compare how many steps he’s done with Rob and I, at the end of each day. Jude’s hero’s currently include Mo Farrah, Usain Bolt and the Incredible Hulk! So who knows what the future will bring 🙂 Thank you Garmin UK for gifting Jude with this activity tracker, he may be your newest and youngest fan!