Children’s fitness: Steve ‘Commando’ Willis lists how parents can motivate kids
BEING an active role model is a sure-fire way for parents to get their kids to put down their screens these school holidays — and Ella Willis, 9, knows all about it.
Confidential
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When the Commando is your father, it goes without saying you’ll have an active lifestyle. And for nine-year-old Ella Willis, that’s an understatement.
The Sydney primary school student tackles a full schedule that includes soccer, dance, Crossfit, swimming and softball, smashing the national daily requirement of 60 minutes of accumulated activity recommended for kids her age.
And now the tiny trainer has taken on the Sanitarium WeetBix Kids TRYathlon in February.
“Getting my kids to be active is not a challenge,” Steve “The Commando” Willis tells BW Magazine.
“They see what I do as the norm, we all exercise. My little one, Axel, is two and he picks up the empty clingfilm cardboard roll and pretends it’s a barbell and he’ll do squats and burpies as well.
“But Ella is really like a mini female version of me. If she could fit more activity into her day, she would — she wants to give everything a go.”
Sadly, Ella is in the minority of kids her age, most of whom do not meet the daily requirements for physical activity.
The Active Healthy Kids Australia Report Card 2016 revealed only 19 per cent of five to 17-year-olds meet the daily physical guidelines, scoring Aussie youngsters a D-minus.
The report states there is a drastic drop-off in activity after kids start school; 72 per cent of two- to four-year-olds meet their daily activity requirements, which drops to about 40 in five- to eight-year-olds, less than 30 per cent in nine-to-11-year-olds, about 15 per cent in 12-to-14-year-olds and only six per cent in 15-to-17-year-olds.
“Look for activities that speak to kids, not adults.”
Willis, who has three children from his previous marriage and two-year-old Axel with former Biggest Loser co-trainer Michelle Bridges, says the best way to keep kids interested in outdoor activity is to role model the behaviour you want your kids to emulate.
“Take a look at what you’re doing and think about if you could be doing things differently,” he says.
“A lot of us don’t have a real awareness of what we’re doing and there’s no point telling your kids to get off their screens and head outside if you’re sitting inside watching tele all day.
“I encourage families to start small, jump on your bikes or just go to the park or play at the beach. If you structure a kid’s activity too much and push too hard, you create resistance in them.
“Also, look for activities that speak to kids, not adults.”
Ryan Hulteen, associate researcher at the Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, says the biggest challenge is getting adolescents to get active and stay active as they move into adulthood.
“A global estimate is that only 20 per cent of adolescents attain enough activity, which means a staggering 80 per cent are not,” Hulteen says.
“There are a bunch of different ways to look at why adolescents may not be getting enough exercise. The first is to ask, ‘Do people have the actual skills to be active?’
“If I’m not great with a ball, I’m not going to enjoy being pushed into soccer.
“I rode my bike so much as a kid I snapped the frame.”
“Young children are not developed cognitively enough to realise they may not be as good as their peers and as a result, they’re more likely to just jump in and give something a go.
“But adolescents are acutely aware of how they perform compared to their peers.
“Secondly, the No.1 reason people do an activity is because it’s fun. But when you’re stuck in the notion that there are only a few team sports available for you to do, you reduce your options to find your ideal activity.
“The best thing parents can do is try to provide their children with as many options as possible.”
As a child, Willis says his parents couldn’t keep him still and he lived on his bike.
But society has changed, he admits, and not only are we faced with greater distractions to being physically active, such as technology and television, but parents are also frightened to let their kids out of sight.
“I rode my bike so much as a kid I snapped the frame and my dad had to weld it back together,” Willis says of his childhood growing up north of Brisbane.
“I remember my mum was never able to get me in for lunch or dinner, I was busy riding my bike, swimming down at the creek or making a tree house.
“Now at the kids’ school, you see about four bikes in the bike rack.”
Willis says events like TRYathlon are great to get kids motivated because the emphasis is on just having a go.
“It gives them confidence, which comes from learning new skills.”
The event, to be held at Sydney Olympic Park on February 4 before moving around the country, is expected to attract more than 17,000 kids nationally.
The seven- to 10-year-old leg involves a 75m swim, 3km cycle and 500m run and the 11-to-15-year-olds take on double that.
“TRY removes the pressure element, which is great because life is competitive enough,” he says.
“The objective is simply to finish and parents can play a really positive part in motivating and encouraging their kids. Completing something like this can really add to a kid’s self-belief, confidence and resolve.”
Hulteen says one of the biggest benefits to exercise, particularly in children, is the mental health outlook.
“There is evidence to support the fact that individuals who are more physically active have better mental health and a decreased incidence of depression and anxiety,” he says.
“It gives them confidence, which comes from learning new skills.
Willis adds Christmas time is the best period of the year to head outside as a family.
He says he loves to take the kids camping, to the beach and just generally get out and enjoy the environment.
“Christmas is great because people have a bit more free time, it’s summer and good to be outdoors.”