Better Health & Living

Expose them to the classics. Remember games like mother may I, freeze tag, 4-square, break the gates, and hopscotch? Teach these forgotten gems to your video-game-playing children. They'll get a kick out of seeing what you did way back when, and you'll have the perfect excuse to act like a kid again, says Sharon B. Spalding, M.Ed., professor of physical education at Mary Baldwin College in Saunton, Virginia.

Work out during commercials. During each set of commercial breaks, select a different family member to be the leader, who then chooses exercises--situps, modified pushups, running in place, squats, lunges, jumping jacks, standing on one foot, jumping on one or both feet--for everyone to do, suggests Spalding.

Shake your bon-bon. Turn on the music and dance, says Jyl Steinback, a fitness author and lifestyle trainer from Scottsdale, Arizona. You'll be pleasantly surprised to learn that you burn 75 or more calories for every 15 minutes you jitterbug or cha-cha. If you love the Doors, but your kids prefer Three Doors Down, take turns picking the song. You'll have fun cutting a rug to (and making fun of) the music of different generations.

Overcome obstacles. Design and make an obstacle course--inside or outside--from things in your basement or garage (i.e., old tires, hula hoops, etc.) that you can climb over, crawl under, or jump around, says Steinback. Get a stopwatch, pick teams, and time everyone as they go through the course.

Pass an exercise ball around. Buy an exercise ball, then stand or sit back to back with your child and pass the ball back and forth for 15 minutes. Twist your midsection as you make each pass to give your obliques and other stomach muscles a good workout, says Catalini.

Hoop it up with a contest. Organize a hula hoop, jump rope, or pogo stick contest. Let the winner choose a nonfood reward, such as a movie to rent that night, says Steinback.

Pop in an exercise video. The next time you're at the library, head over to the exercise videos and check out one or two--yoga, karate, or Tae-bo, for example--that the whole family can try together. Many are broken down into 10- or 15-minute intervals, although you can always go longer. Catalini recommends looking for tapes or DVDs from reputable organizations such as the American Council on Exercise or the American College of Sports Medicine.

Host a night at the races. Turn your basement into a nighttime racetrack, suggests Spalding. Score by the number of laps each person does or who is the quickest from the starting block to the finish line. A bonus: The kids can run to the point of exhaustion, hopefully making the bedtime ritual easier.

Skate away.Add a family roller-skating or ice-skating night or two to your fitness calendar, says Catalini. Besides burning up to 590 calories per hour, skating can cost as little as $5 to $6 a person--much less than movie tickets.