My 13 yr.old son needs to get some exercise......PLEASE HELP!!?

Question

My son is 13 and when he is at his mom's house where he lives Mon.-Fri. all he does when he is not in school is play video games.When he is with me on the weekends he gets mad at me because I don't have any.He is bored.I try to get him interested in doing outdoor activities but he does not seem interested.I take him to baseball games,we watch fooball and hockey on TV but nothing.I even have a bike for him(with a helmet)that just sits there.It is even a chore to just get him to take a walk.His mother was never into doing anything like this so it is hard to get him to do things only 1 or 2 days a week because when he goes back to moms it's just video games again.
Can someonegive me some suggestions as to how to get him interested in some type(any type) of physical activitie?

Answer 1

Involve him in whatever outdoor activities you do. Have him help you with yardwork or washing the car. Instead of driving somewhere close by ride your bikes there. Join a father/son sports team. Go bowling.

Answer 2

If it's within your budget, perhaps you could try getting your son a Nintendo wii, or get a video game like dance, dance revolution (a really fun dancing video game). Even though those are still video games, kids have to do more than stare at a screen and mash a few buttons while sitting on a sofa or chair.

If it's within you and your son's league, maybe ya'll could try doing something like paintballing, swimming, golf, karate, etc.

One thing that seems to be really popular these days, even if it is a bit reckless, is skateboarding. If you would not feel uncomfortable in doing so, then maybe you could see about getting your son a skateboard.

Ask him what he might like, or see what interests him besides video games. Maybe you could even find out what types of video games interest your son. (If your son realizes that he can do something from his games in real life, then that might be motivation for him to get active. ) For example, if he's into the Star Wars video games, you and your son could get some of those plastic lightsabers that toystores and Wal-Mart sell for under ten dollars and learn how to "duel", or fence.

In any case, be creative. You never know what might happen!

Answer 3

I feel sorry for you. Maybe the best thing you could do is talk to a health professional and ask them to give you statistics, thoughts, pictures, horror stories, etc on children who don't get exercise. There are tons of health problems that stem from inactivity. Bone growth, BRAIN growth, obesity, digestion, muscle, ligaments, arthritis and osteoporosis...the list goes on and on. Get a pretty good idea of what could possibly happen to your son...and then get his mother on board. If possible, have a child psychiatrist call your ex to convice her to encourage her son to move. All it would take is burning the video games and trashing the TV. It's gonna take both parents to encourage your son to move.

But don't give up. If you don't want to go through all of the above. Just keep pushing.......put your foot down and insist that he get out and do something....go hiking, biking, running, karate, etc. Your the Dad.....he does what you say, not the other way around. Right now he may resent it, but when he's older he'll be thankful that one of his parents cared enough about his health and future to make him change his habits.

Answer 4

when I hit that age, or close to it, I admit I was rather sedentary myself. In fact, I played a lot of video games as well.

I then enrolled into football in middle school, only to find my asthma would get in the way. As a result, I committed to lifting weights. Weight lifting to me is almost instant gratification. You feel pumped up, and usually see results pretty quick. Also, I started running regularly, which helped my endurance.

camping is a good idea, not to expensive, or there's video games that involve movement (Nintendo Wii).

I was also active in the boy scouts, and it was tremendously fun! I highly recommend it, if possible.

Many friends and I also took martial arts. That was also fun. Or fishing, cycling, or perhaps crafting.

to be honest, there's a lot you can do, I guess it's best to keep trying different things, and pay attention to what he responds to best.

good luck!

Answer 5

I second Dr. Demonica, especially on the Karate. Hip-Hop dancing lessons would work as long as he likes hip-hop and dancing. Are you near a major city? you could go on an outing there. Also think about taking him camping. You might also want to talk to your ex. She should be able to see that it is not healthy for a 13 year old to set in front of a video screen everyday.

I sympathize with you. Many of my friends (in their 30's) are vidiots. They just let a whole summer of cool sunny days go down the toilet; too busy playing to come out. I love the computer, but I have to get outside in the nice weather.

Answer 6

Buy him a Nintendo Wii with sports games such as boxing. That would be good start. Because with the Wii the controler is like a motion sensor and you really have to box when playing a boxing game. I've seen videos and people actually get tired from playing.

Answer 7

I don't really know you could make hiim because your his dad.
When i was 13 i hated it when my mom would make me go on a walk 3 miles but after i would be in a good mood maybe you could award him like go buy a video game or two let him help you pick them out and then tell him he can earn playing time like he exercise he can play for an hour or something its a win win kind of thing ohh i guess you could get a treadmill but they are kinda expensive and they take up alot of room.

Good Luck

Answer 8

Show him "paintballing". Since he's into video games, going to play paintball is like a videogame you would actually have to live in, running, dodging, sneaking up. It'll really exercise him out, but he might have a couple bruises, but that kind of builds character in itself.

Or, you could show him MMA (mixed martial arts) and show him techniques and spar and stuff in that nature.

In the end, you must have a talk with him, and tell him that many of the video gamers are overweight or extremely unhealthy.

Answer 9

Ok this might sound weird but if he likes video games so much, the system Wii is quite good because i have played it like the boxing game and you actually work up a sweat and i work out! So if you need him to be active and nothing else works you could try that. My brother is the same way.

Answer 10

Computer games that involve physical activity are really catching on. A recent article in TIME magazine dealt with the phenomenon of school PE programs buying such products to stimulate a love of physical activity. One great example is DDR (Dance Dance Revolution). Especially helpful is for him to have a companion (Dad?) to learn the game and play along. Once he gets the feel of it he will find his own companions.