SCREEN ON THE GO
fitness sessions suitable for both kids and adults, from Zumba and bhangra-size to HIIT workouts and yoga, there really is something for everyone.
Classes can be live or accessed on YouTube at any time to suit you, which makes it much easier if you’re trying to fit a session in around a busy family life.
There are also plenty of opportunities to include a bit of movement into the screen time itself, why not put the music channel on and have 10 minutes dancing together before you put on a movie, or encourage the kids to act along with the storyline to get them up off the sofa – chances are they know a number of films off by heart by now!
An easy test to see if the activity is strenuous enough is to try and talk or sing – if this makes you feel out of breath then you are doing enough.
EXERCISE WHILE YOU WORK
FOR those of us who have to sit in front of a screen for work or to study, a good technique is to try and incorporate a little movement into your day. This could be standing while you are on the phone or pacing the room while you’re reading notes. Anything that gets you up out of the chair will be making your muscles work and doing you good, so it’s beneficial even if you stand for a few minutes at a time.
Just because you are working from home it doesn’t mean you have to be tied to your desk.
OF course, the best way to incorporate a screen into your activity is to take it outside!
Smartphones, watches and activity trackers are among the smallest in the screen family but are a great way to make the most of technology while you are out and about.
At their most basic level they can be used as step trackers, while more modern phones will be able to support geocaching and augmented reality game apps. These use the mobile phone’s GPS to create a virtual treasure hunt in the real-world environment, and will have players running from one point to another to find the next ‘treasure’.
While geocaching tends to direct participants to a physical box or object, augmented reality games – such as Pokemon Go or Sharks in the Park – find computer-generated rewards which can be been seen on the phone’s screen.
These are all brilliant fun for the whole family. But don’t take my word for it – why not give it a go?
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psychologist Dr
Malie Coyne, right, a lecturer at the National University of Ireland
Galway and author of
Love In Love Out – A Compassionate Approach to Parenting
Your Anxious Child (published by Thorsons, £14.99), says: “Parents play a crucial role in containing their child’s anxiety, and in finding the tricky balance between helping them to feel safe and empowering them to test their fears.” To find this balance, Dr Coyne developed the four steps of the SAFE Chain of Resilience:
How do you feel when she’s anxious? What messages might you be conveying in the way you respond (through words and body language)? Do you feel calmer when you’ve looked after your own ‘self-care’ needs?
In the midst of a fight or flight situation, remaining calm and using relaxation or stress reduction techniques will facilitate your daughter tuning into what’s happening inside her body, imagining her heart and breath slowing, her chest softening, relating to herself with kindness as she rides the fear through.
Although it’s tempting to try to ‘stop’ your daughter’s anxiety by problem-solving her feeling, what she needs from you during an anxious moment is to ‘feel felt’ and truly understood. Breathe and reflect back her words: ‘You’re scared you might catch the virus if you meet someone on our walk today. That must be hard.’
Talking to her about how her anxiety affects her thoughts, feelings and behaviour will empower her. Designing a ‘fear ladder’ together may help, where she’s encouraged to face fears in tiny steps, mastered at her pace.