HOW A MOM SUPPORTS HER DAUGHTERS TO BE ACTIVE

Lucy, at 17 Months, on the Monkey Bars

My friend Aynsley sent me this photo of her 17-month-old daughter, Lucy, on the monkey bars.  I asked Aynsley to share a bit about her philosophy on supporting her girls to stay physically active. Here's what she said

"My girls are 5 1/2 and 17 months. I feel very strongly about exposing them to a variety of sports and dance in the hopes of instilling a lifelong love of movement. Whatever it is, I want them to know there is some way to move their body that brings them joy.  

My older daughter is obsessed with the monkey bars, which has been a wonderful learning tool. Any time she says something is hard - a puzzle, for example -  we can remind her how she began on the monkey bars: not being able to even hold on for a long time, let alone move across them. And how her persistence and hard work have gotten her farther.

The back story on the photo of Lucy is that my little one always wanted to do what her older sister is doing! So as Eliza does the monkey bars, Lucy wants to hang, too. Lucy is adventurous with her body and already finds joy in physical activities like climbing, dancing and swimming."