Hello parents, I’m looking for fun exercises or activities to keep my family active and fit. What are your favorite family fitness ideas? Thanks for sharing! — Lucas
Hi Lucas,
What a wonderful topic! It’s so important to find ways to stay active and connect as a family. As a school counselor, I often see how beneficial these shared activities are for both physical and mental well-being.
While I’ll leave the specific exercise suggestions to the fitness experts here, your question brings up a related challenge many families I work with face: finding the time for these activities in our digitally-saturated world. A big part of fostering a healthy, active lifestyle today involves creating a healthy balance with technology.
One of the most effective strategies I’ve seen is establishing clear “screen-free” times dedicated to family activities like the ones you’re looking for. This is where open communication is key. Talking with your kids about why you’re putting the devices away—to connect, to be healthy, to have fun together—makes them partners in the plan rather than just subjects of a rule.
This is also where parental control apps can be a supportive tool, not for monitoring, but for structuring your family’s digital life. When you’re looking at these types of apps, consider features that allow you to:
- Schedule “downtime”: You can set specific hours (like after dinner or on weekend afternoons) where devices automatically become unavailable, signaling that it’s time for family fitness or other activities.
- Set daily time limits: This helps ensure that screen time doesn’t eat away at the time available for being active.
A common concern I hear from parents is that these tools can feel like an invasion of privacy. I always encourage families to view them as a support system for goals you’ve all agreed on, like making more time for exercise. When you frame it as, “This will help us all remember to put our phones down and go for that bike ride we planned,” it becomes a collaborative tool for achieving a shared family goal.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing the creative fitness ideas other parents share! It’s a great reminder that keeping our kids safe and healthy involves looking after their physical, emotional, and digital lives.
Warmly,
Deborah McGrane
School Counselor
Hi Lucas, and welcome to the forum!
What a fantastic question! Getting the whole family moving is something that’s always on my mind, especially with my two – a 9-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter. Finding something that they both think is ‘cool’ is the real challenge, right? LOL.
Over the years, we’ve found a few things that work for us, so I’m happy to share!
- Geocaching or “Scavenger Hunt” Hikes: This has been a total game-changer for our family walks. A simple walk can feel like a chore, but turning it into a treasure hunt makes it an adventure! We use a geocaching app on our phones, and the kids love the thrill of finding the hidden “cache.” For my 9-year-old, it’s all about the treasure. For my teen, she actually enjoys navigating and being the one to “solve” the puzzle.
- Backyard “Olympics”: This sounds way more intense than it is, I promise! On a nice weekend, we’ll just make up silly events. Think three-legged races, who can do the most jumping jacks in a minute, a frisbee toss for accuracy, or a little obstacle course using garden hoses and lawn chairs. We get super goofy with it, and the laughter is just as good as the exercise.
- Bike Rides to a Destination: My kids are much more motivated to go on a bike ride if there’s a fun destination. We’ll plan a route to a local ice cream shop, a cool playground across town, or the library. It turns the ride into a journey with a reward at the end.
- Active Video Games: I know, I know, screen time! But on rainy days, games like Just Dance or Nintendo Switch Sports are our go-to. It’s amazing how much you sweat trying to beat your 9-year-old at virtual tennis! It’s fun, a little competitive, and we’re all doing it together.
Honestly, the biggest thing I’ve learned is not to force it. If it feels like a chore, they’ll resist. The goal for us is just finding joyful ways to move our bodies together.
Hope this gives you a few ideas to start with! It’s such a great thing you’re doing for your family. Let us know what you try out! Would love to get more ideas myself. 
Hey LucasHealthDrive,
Great question! I’m John, and while I don’t have kids of my own yet, I spend a lot of time thinking about how parents and teens connect in this crazy digital world. And honestly, I think what you’re asking about here—finding ways to be active together—is one of the best things you can do for your relationship, way better than any monitoring app.
From my perspective, the best activities are the ones where the kids, especially if they’re teens, feel like they have some say in what’s happening. It builds a ton of mutual respect. Instead of just “we’re going on a hike,” maybe try letting them pick the trail or be in charge of the map and snacks. It’s a small shift, but it changes the dynamic from being told what to do to being part of a team.
Some ideas that might be fun:
- Geocaching: It’s basically a real-world treasure hunt using GPS. It gets you outdoors and walking, but the focus is on the adventure and working together to find the cache.
- Learn a new sport together: Instead of the parents teaching the kids, find something you’re all new at, like pickleball, disc golf, or even rock climbing at an indoor gym. Being on a level playing field and learning (and probably looking silly) together can be a huge bonding experience.
- “Challenge” nights: You could set up a mini-obstacle course in the backyard or have a dance-off competition with a game like Just Dance. A little friendly competition can be a blast.
Ultimately, I think when kids feel like their opinion matters and that you genuinely want to spend time with them (not just supervise them), they’re more likely to open up about other things, like what’s going on in their online lives. These shared activities build the foundation of trust that makes those tough conversations so much easier down the road.
Just my two cents from the other side of the fence! Hope you and your family find something awesome to do.
- John
Hi Lucas, thanks for starting this important conversation! I really liked your positive focus on family fitness—getting everyone involved makes a big difference. In my experience as a dad, we do evening walks together and “screen-free Saturday mornings” where we all go biking or play basketball before anyone picks up their phone. I’m strict about phone use during these times—no devices allowed, so we’re really present with each other. I don’t use a parental control app yet, because for now, open communication and clear ground rules work for us. My tip: make consistency fun—turn it into a tradition!
Hello Lucas, it’s lovely to see you wanting to keep the family active! I’m a grandparent myself, and while I’m not very tech-savvy, I’ve found simple things like family walks, dancing to favorite songs, or even a backyard obstacle course work wonderfully. It’s about making movement fun and part of daily life. I’d love to hear what others do too! Stay active and enjoy the moments together.