Family Habits to Energize for Life

family riding bikes in the park

The start of summer is an excellent time to kick off healthy habits. Without the pressures and hectic pace of the school year, families can enjoy summer fun, make lasting memories, and discover new ways to stay active together. Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation (PAHWF) offers fresh ideas for a healthy, active summer to inspire kids and their adults all year long.

Start with Yourself

Before you can motivate others, you must live by example. Through self-care, you demonstrate health as a work in progress. By always striving to make time for your own fitness and health, you become someone to emulate. Loved ones, especially children, learn by your actions (even your teens who may consider you an alien at any given moment).

Talk the Walk

Mention how healthy habits like time in nature or a community fun run benefitted you personally. Talk about how a workout energized or motivated you by accomplishing something healthy. Share your stress-relieving activities and let your family see them in action. It may be a 5-minute timeout for meditation, or a quick stretch session. Give your kids the opportunity to see the benefits of exercise and healthy habits in action.

Get Out

Summer gifts us with plenty of sunny, warm days. Our community provides an abundance of opportunities to enjoy outdoor fitness. 

Pottstown Play Streets is a fun, safe way to spend Thursday summer evenings. Convened by the PAHWF through the Borough of Pottstown Parks and Recreation Department, this program temporarily closes neighborhood blocks (on rotation) to traffic to provide open public areas for families, kids, and neighbors to meet, play, and learn. Free play equipment is available and tables are set up for partners to provide outreach. Get these dates and locations on your calendar now before the onslaught of summer commitments:

2025 Play Streets

Thursdays 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

June 12: Cherry Street Park

June 26: Prince Street (Bright Hope)

July 10: Chestnut Street Park

July 24: Washington/West Park

July 31: Spruce Street Park

Rain Date:

August 7: TBD

 

Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Committee (PARRC) hosts fun outings/events throughout the year, many which are fitness focused. Borrow a bike through the Bike Pottstown/Bike Schuylkill program. It’s free to anyone ages 16 and older with a valid driver’s license or other ID. This is a great way to develop a healthy habit without any financial commitment. Visit the PARRC website for more outdoor workouts disguised as play, including kayaking, hiking, and community sports. 

Create your own outdoor fitness experiences. Discover what your family enjoys. Then, experiment to find stress-relieving outlets and workouts even your youngest family members will enjoy. It may be rhythmic movements like jumping rope or swinging on a swing-set (i.e., playground time) or swim sessions at the community pool. Schedule regular hikes along beautiful local trails. Take note of the changing seasons and how that affects the nature surrounding you.

Browse the PAHWF Outdoor Activity Finder to learn about the many spaces right outside your front door where you can enjoy exercise and develop lifelong healthy habits. By getting the family involved in planning, no one can complain about the chosen activity. Just the opposite, they can be an advocate for their choice, showing all the ways to love it.

Nurture an Active Lifestyle

Make exploring outdoors and other healthy habits a natural part of your family’s lifestyle. Incorporate some exercise every day. With these fun ideas, they will not even realize they are getting a workout: 

  • Play catch, tag, or other backyard games.
  • Go on a hike or walk the neighborhood. 
  • Grow a garden.
  • Go on a scavenger hunt. Search for specific plants and birds. Count how many dogs you encounter.
  • Skate or skateboard.
  • Swim and make a splash with water activities. 
  • Play! Let kids of all ages remind you of this art. Set up a tent or fort, draw with sidewalk chalk, crawl, jump, skip, create an active life.

 

Summer’s more casual pace allows time for us to strengthen our minds and bodies. Family fitness can be a fun chance to spend quality time together—without the pressure of hectic schedules, homework battles, and carpools. Exercising together and spending time in nature has the added benefit of experiencing family as the healthy support system it can be.

 

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