My children are stronger and healthier than I was at their age.

As a child in the 80’s, my focus was on the television, snacks, and books (not textbooks). This meant that I was obese, weak, and slow in school. I had ‘text neck’ before mobile phones were invented. I wasn’t able to run around the schoolyard for one round. I played chess during the PT (Physical Training) period. I had notes exempting me from taking part in the sports day. I was the last to be picked for a team. It was a wonder that I didn’t get bullied!

On the other hand, my sons have beautiful posture that makes their own parents jealous. They come out with me for 10km treks or 20km bike rides. They can wrestle or spar with an adult that outweighs them by 20 kilos (me) and knock him flat on his back, and they are still in their mid-teens, 15 and 14 years old respectively. They do play chess, but they also run around on the football field and are able to do calisthenics that will leave their peers and adults open-mouthed in amazement.

I want to say that this is not normal. My parents were not athletically gifted, nor was I. We’re biased by our education to think that genetics has a greater role in our lives than is demonstrated by reality.
The fact is, we’re all genetically gifted. That is why our bloodline is here, alive and surviving on this earth, in this day and age. We have never challenged our bodies and genetics enough to enable the full potential of the genetic inheritance. My sons have the same genetics as me and my wife but the upbringing that they received, enabled them to surpass what I could even dream of.

What follows, is an outline of how I managed to enable that genetic expression and opened my eyes to my own potential for health and strength.

This improvement in my next generation came from conscious hard work; both on my part and on theirs. My job is to provide them with the basics when they are with me. After they leave me, what they do is up to them. I would like you to consider physical education as essential, and fundamental; the way you do literacy and numeracy. I’m still figuring out how to encourage creativity and reading, and when I do, I’ll write about that as well.

The emphasis I lay on physical education has made me a tyrant in their eyes; but, I think they understand its value now after years of training and there is less resistance when I ask them to train.

Physical literacy is just as important as scholastic achievement, and that is something our generation neglected in our pursuit of secure jobs. The irony of me, an ex-fat kid, now in a ‘safe’ government job, is not lost on me.

There are two main reasons for opposition from parents when it comes to physical training for children:

1. Lack of interest in children
2. Risk of injury

Both of the points mentioned above are valid concerns; let’s take a look at how they can be addressed.

Lack of interest among children is because:

1. They find structured training boring
2. They don’t know where they are going to apply the physical skills they learn if they train.

These are problems that teachers run up against when they try to teach academics at school. The children find the subjects boring and they don’t know what the use is, beyond exams.
Therefore, the lack of interest in physical training can be approached in the same way as in scholastic training — by finding ways to make the training interesting; and by showing them how the physical skills will be useful in the future.

The above can be achieved through participation by the parents/teachers and the application of skills as they learn.

1. Participation — What they do, you do; and vice versa. This will make you look less like a tyrant. It will bring humour into the session, as you make fun of each other’s clumsiness. It will also bring motivation as they see what you are capable of, and start desiring to be like you and better than you. Verbal instructions fail; humans learn by imitation. Be the example your children need you to be. As an added bonus you become a physically better specimen, while bonding with your children. The interest that you show in the physical education of your children is going to become the strongest driver of their improvement.
2. Application — Make them see what their new strength and skill enable them to do. Take them outdoors — trekking, swimming, cycling, camping. They will see that there is a world beyond the computer and the phone. They will see the value of being stronger and faster.

When the children are around 5-8 years of age, you are still their heroes. They want to spend time with you regardless of what you do together. They want to mimic what you’re doing. If you join them in their physical activity and play, you set an example that they will hopefully imbibe and hand over to the next generation. You also make yourself healthier; which is a win-win. Humans are primates. Your children are literally, little monkeys. They learn by imitation. If you stand there barking orders, you become a tyrant. Instead, if you join them, or they join you, it becomes a fun bonding session for the entire family. Playing, moving, dancing, or exercising together, definitely beats binge-watching a Netflix series together while eating snacks from an MNC.
You will see your children start to compete with each other. They develop a sportsman spirit—a spirit of healthy competition. Maybe you will get involved too, in competing with them, and push yourself to become a healthier version of yourself; that is what happened to me.

Once you get them interested in training and moving regularly, you should take it to the next level. Reward their hard work. Show them that the effort they put in has resulted in them becoming stronger, faster, and more agile. The reward should be some activity that further reinforces the idea that physical fitness is useful. Take them out on physical adventures. Take them trekking, kayaking, or cycling. Go to the beach, and run sprints. Wrestle with your boys; they will love rough play. You never know, maybe your daughters begin to like it too. Ask them if they want to join a martial arts class. Join the class with them, make time from your busy schedule. Lead by example.