Exercise is an important part of life for anyone young or old, and there are many different ways for a person to get moving. Exercise is how a person can burn calories and fat, develop muscle and coordination, and have a good time. Healthy exercise habits can also improve a person’s mood and sleep, while a lack of exercise may cause the inverse. Many studies and surveys are done to track how often and why Americans exercise, and the numbers show that many children and adults today are falling short of their recommended quotas. Fortunately, it is never too late for anyone to adopt a more healthy lifestyle, and this includes kids, too. A child may join a sports team, ride a bicycle, or play on jungle gyms and other playground equipment. Some of these playgrounds are in fact indoor playgrounds, such as commercial indoor jungle gyms. Parents may look for these kids indoor play structures on rainy days, or they may find these convenient commercial indoor jungle gyms in the same place where the adults had business anyway. What is there to know about commercial indoor playground equipment and exercise today?
Kids and Exercise
The numbers show that many of today’s American children are falling short of their exercise needs, and a number of causes have been identified. For the most part, children are spending a great deal of their free time using electronic screens, and this is nearly always a sedentary activity. Just under one in three American children today meet the Sports and Fitness Industry Association’s guidelines for “active to a healthy level.” Being properly active isn’t a terribly high bar to clear, either; only 25 minutes of high calorie-burning activity three times per week is necessary, but many kids don’t even get that much. This, combined with fatty foods, leads to today’s rather high obesity rates among children: 18.5%. This can greatly harm a child’s physical health.
But as mentioned earlier, kids and their parents can easily turn this around. Kids naturally need exercise to burn calories and develop muscle, and even develop their brains, too. Kids may greatly enjoy outdoor play of all kinds, from using commercial indoor jungle gyms to sports (organized or not) to riding bicycles or swimming. This, combined with a better diet, can help a child maintain a healthy weight and have an enjoyable lifestyle, too. Often, parents take their children to outdoor parks for fresh air, where there’s plenty of room for kids to run around and get exercise. These parks include not only trails and paths, but also metal, wood, and plastic equipment for kids to climb and run on. But if the weather is poor, or if the family can’t easily visit a park for some reason, they may try commercial indoor jungle gyms. Often, parents send their kids to these commercial indoor jungle gyms to occupy them while carrying out their own business.
Where to Find Indoor Gyms
Where can parents find these commercial indoor jungle gyms? Often, they are placed in locations where the entire family will visit, and kids can use the equipment while the parents are elsewhere. Often, shopping malls may include a commercial indoor jungle gym for the kids while parents shop, and these indoor playgrounds may include seats or benches where parents and responsible adults may sit and supervise everything. Meanwhile, houses of worship often include these commercial indoor jungle gyms if they double as a daycare, which they often do. These houses of worship may also have an outdoor set of playground equipment, possibly surrounded with a fence. Some fast food restaurants also have these commercial indoor jungle gyms in them as well.
A fitness center can be family-friendly by not only having conventional equipment for adult patrons, but also a separate room for an commercial indoor jungle gym. This way, the entire family can visit a fitness club, and the kids may have a good time while kept in the indoor play room. Everyone can get exercise this way. After all, it may be impractical or dangerous for kids to be out in the main area and try to use the adult-oriented equipment, jogging track, or swimming pool.