In our family, adventure is a way of life. With five active boys and a deep love for travel, staying active has become an essential part of our journey. In this post, I want to share my thoughts on why we believe keeping our family active while exploring the world is a huge gift that we can give them. From hiking through majestic mountains to swimming in crystal-clear waters, our experiences have not only strengthened our bonds but also taught the boys the value of an active lifestyle.
Staying active matters:
As parents, we believe that instilling a love for staying active in our boys is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. You can’t turn around without hearing more benefits of good health and exercise, and in this age of increasing innovation that allows us to remain seated more often, if we don’t teach our children to be active at a young age, they will struggle even more as adults. Yes, rest is important. Yes, it’s ok to watch a movie or play a video game. But, for us, we’d prefer that our time being active both inside and outside, far outweigh our time be sedentary. And we truly believe that being healthier and more actively physically helps our children stay healthier and more active mentally.
Creating lasting memories:
I’ve mentioned in a prior post that our family vision is: To create lasting memories through meaningful experiences, to foster deep connections through quality time together, and to embrace the beauty of the world together. We have found that the more active the adventure we do as a family, the more lasting the memory we’ve made with the boys. We could ask them what they got for Christmas two years ago and they will remember maybe one or two of the 20 gives they received.
But if you ask them about the time we went to Maine three years ago, they can detail what it was like to climb Mount Washington, who came to Matthew’s makeshift birthday party we planned 2 hours before we held it, and which friends came and jumped off Grampa’s boat into the lake with them. They remember the night we spent setting fireworks off the dock with just us, the smore’s we made with sticks they found themselves, and the nights they got to stay up late laying in the grass with us just looking at the stars.
The activities don’t have to be strenuous to create these memories, but the more we are moving, connecting and being together, the more these moments get burned into their minds and the more they appreciate what we have as a family.
Children love a challenge:
Why don’t you think kids push back when we say no? They are testing boundaries, they like a good challenge! When you tell a child, “Oh that’s a little hard, are you sure you can do it?” They will always respond with, “Watch me!”.
This is why we love a challenging hike, a day at a jump park, or even just wandering through woods we’ve never explored before. When we reach the peak, each of the boys looks around in pure wonder at the beauty and we point down to the bottom and remind them how far they’ve come. The pride or their achievement is the best gift I could ever get as a mom, to see that smile on their face, their eyes shining so bright, saying, “Wow, Mama, I did that?!”. Same goes for a jump park or anything else. The day that MJ learned to do a backflip was completely amazing for him. But the day he taught his little brother Matthew to do a backflip too was even better. They love the challenge, and we support them whole heartedly, so their achievements are well earned and well celebrated!
Never be afraid to try new things:
The final lesson we are teaching our boys through our active lifestyle is to never be afraid to try new things. It may be overwhelming and a bit scary, but we are there and we know they can do it! From surfing for the first time (and actually standing up on day one!), to climbing their first vertical cliff face on metal rung ladders, they been scared, they’ve looked to us for reassurance, and they’ve conquered obstacles that a lot of kids their age won’t even try.
You can be active anywhere:
While being active while you’re out exploring new places on a vacation can come easily, it’s also easy to be just as active at home. With our limits on screen time, the boys have hours available to them each day to jump on the trampoline, ride their bikes, learn to roller skate and do a million other activities right at home. And to make it even better, aligned with our family vision, that also means that Luis and I join in the fun too! Any given week, you can see all seven of us riding our bikes down the trail to the local park, with Jack clapping along in his toddler seat on the back of Luis’s bike or you can find Luis in the trampoline bouncing those giggling little boys higher than Mama can stomach.
And when we seem to run out of things to do, and the boys inevitably ask for extra screen time, the screen limit rule remains, “Not right now.”. But I encourage them to find mentally active activities in its place. Let’s create our own scavenger hunt. Do you want to create your own escape room in the back bedroom?
Conclusion:
Our journey as an active family has enriched our lives in countless ways. Staying active together has kept us physically fit and has also strengthened our family bonds and created beautiful memories that the boys will carry with them for a lifetime. Not only has it taught our boys how to be healthy and take care of their bodies, it has encouraged them to try and learn new things that they can’t learn from a book or the television, like how to read a map, how to make safe decisions while exploring, or how to actually do a backflip off a park bench in the middle of Disney World (yes, I had a heart attack).
As we continue our adventures, we look forward to the many new experiences and discoveries that await us, always embracing the joy of staying active as a family!