Parents are increasingly juggling work, school, sports, errands, household chores, appointments, and so much more. The Active Family Project provides parents, from sources like its Play Council, with family-friendly tips and advice. Brought to you by Merck Consumer Care, Inc., this health and wellness initiative is designed to help all parents overcome their worries about doing it all and truly be at their best by being active and enjoying time with the ones they love. I share below how my family accomplishes this goal!
TV personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck kicked off Merck Consumer Care’s Active Family Project in New York City 2 days ago, and I was fortunate enough to be there! The event celebrates the first National Family Playdate.
I see Elisabeth on The View everyday, I even left her some pictures I took when I was in the audience on her birthday! As a mom of 3, and a TV personality, I often hear about how she balances her kids, her marriage, and her job. Having met a lot of celebrities as a blogger, the reality is, once you have kids, parenting is our common denominator and we can all share advice. My favorite part of the conversation with Elisabeth was when she relayed to us that she tells her daughter that she never raised a 7 year old girl before, that this is new to her! That stopped her daughter in her tracks! I loved that, I must remember to use that on my son! We don’t have to agree on politics to be able to agree on how to be more involved with raising the next generation!
My portion of the “round table,” which is in quotes because we were on couches, was with Amy McCready who wrote a book on how to get your kids to listen without nagging, reminding, or yelling. I luckily received a copy, I definitely need advice in that area!
We all discussed various ways to get our kids active, and to get ourselves active with our kids. One of the moms had shared one thing she did with her daughters, she used to tell them they danced so well, could they help her to learn to dance better. I thought this was a brilliant way to engage them, and to keep them interested in their own parents! Stroke their egos!
I shared that I felt very fortunate living in Manhattan we seem to have playgrounds every few blocks. And because we are involved in our community we almost always run into someone for my son to play with. He is the type of boy who is very friendly with everyone, he can play with any group of boys. But the real struggle that we all discussed and agreed upon is the initial action of leaving the home.
The easiest thing to do on a Saturday morning is to turn on the TV, or one of the video consoles in our home. And we have many! My almost 10 year old son loves the weekends for just this reason, because I do not allow electronics during the week. We are busy enough and need to focus on the 1 hour of homework he gets daily. Therefore, pulling him away from this weekend activity is not always easy. I do set limits though, because it seems he practically rolls out of bed and starts playing video games immediately when he can. I limit the hours he is allowed to do that, but, and this is a biggie, I have to be there with an alternative activity! I have to be showered and dressed and ready to leave the house to get to that playground! Otherwise my son will not do this on his own initiative.
And that is how it worked last weekend. He knew I had a toy for a blog review that needed to be done, we all (eventually) went outside, and after a few minutes a friend walked by. My son and this boy ended up in the basketball court for almost 2 hours. That was a successful “off the cuff” playdate!
I will share that we do make plans to have adventures, whether it be a dinosaur park, or the local Zoo. I like to get to the activities when they open, usually 10 am, and these planned trips help us to have a longer, more organized family play date. I am very grateful to be able to raise my son in New York City, and have a car, so we can stay active and busy together on the weekends, in town or out of town. I understand it may not be so easy to stick close to each other the older he gets, but for now he loves our family adventures! Even if the adventure is just a 2 mile walk to Chinatown (talking as we walk) for a family lunch.
The National Family Playdate is May 11. Make outdoor family time a priority and one the kids will look forward to by planning ahead, thinking of ways to engage them, and setting yourself up for success so they want to hang out with their parents as they get older! Make a commitment on Facebook where you can also enter their sweepstakes, through May 26 (“Like” their page to see the form)! The payoff is better health and a great relationship with your kids, and maybe a free vacation!
Check out Merck’s Active Family Project website and follow along on Facebook for updated information!
Disclosure: I received product samples and a $100 gift card from Merck Consumer Care, and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience. This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Merck Consumer Care.
And of course I have the pic!
Sheila says
I love the View, and love her. How fun.
Roechelle says
I can totally relate, I am the ultimate juggler now that I am a mom.
Jen Medeiros says
I didn’t know that there was a National Family Playdate, but I am definitely going to put that on my calendar!
Krystle Kouture (Baking Beauty) says
I adore her! Thanks for letting us know about national playdate day I’ll have to plan something fun!
Not So Average Mama says
I think I am lucky. My kids would much rather play outside, go skating, go to the park than watch TV or play video games! Great post!
Brett says
i love finding a common denominator in life. the parenting thing rocks!! i almost fell over when soleil moon frye was asking me how hard it REALLY was to go from 2-3 kids. ME!
we try, especially in nice weather, to turn electronics OFF and do family time. even just playing outside. i don’t, fyi, count the camera (DSLR not phone camera) as electronics. but even then…sometimes i leave that home.
Monica says
Thanks for all the great and useful information regarding the The Active Family Project and the National Family Playdate and for sharing your experience! (I remember seeing Elisabeth Hasselbeck on one of the first “Survivor” episodes, she was a cutie then too!)
Sarah says
I’m definitely having a playdate on the 11th. What a great initiative. And I love Elisabeth, even if she is a republican.
Pam says
One of my kids hates to go outside! I have to find things to do he enjoys or he will stay in the house and play video games all the time too.
Margaret Manning says
Family playdates is a great idea. I work for a YMCA and we have a program called Catch to keep kids moving. Nuitrition id an important part too.