Helpful Hints: Exercising

Anyone who has a child in therapy knows that, no matter how good your kid, getting therapy done on a daily basis is a herculean task. Here are some ways we are handling it:

1. We do our practice walking on the sidewalk in front of the house when weather permits. Each walk ends up on the front porch where we do our two other exercises. Then head back to the sidewalk. Time really flies when we do them outside.

2. We do our exercises at approximately the same time everyday.She does a set before she goes to school, her second set an hour after she gets home from school, and her third set after dinner while the other family members clean up.

3. Because the exercises are for 60 minutes a day, we break them up into 3 20-minute sessions. This was at Grace's request. I think it makes a difference when she can control some of what she has to do.

4. If you find you cannot fit in the entire session you planned get in whatever you can. Even if its just ten minutes. That is ten minutes you wont have to find time for later in the day. And it does make a difference.

5. We start each set of our exercises with a snack of some sort. It has to be something you can eat in small portions. I let her pick - even if its "bad" stuff. So it could be cookies I break into fourths. Or chocolate covered raisins. I've used pop because my kids are only allowed pop on "movie nights". Popcorn. Nutella. Just about anythign she is hungry for.

She starts with a small piece when we line up to start. Then when she finishes each set of practice walks (for us up and back in front of the house or up and back in the front room), she gets a piece.

6. My Gracie will complain a lot so I have offered to pay her $1 per day that she doesnt complain. So far she has not been able to make much but it has kept her under a minimal kind of control.
FOLLOWUP NOTE: This is NOT working for us.

7. I find getting her started is the most difficult part of this. But I can safely add on 5 to 10 minutes per session without her even knowing it. Its a good cushion for if you miss a session or two during the week PLUS its a good way to get some extra time in a relatively painless manner.

8. Try using a podometer. They love seeing the number of steps they've taken. I only let her use it for exercises so its "special".

9. We are almost a year into it and this one is a BIGGIE. Gracie really likes Mary but she is afraid of her wrath - tho she has never suffered any wrath. So when she is giving me trouble for anything having to do with exercising or wanting to take off her brace or ..., I 1. tell her I'm going to email Mary about it and tell her, and 2. escalate it by actually calling off whatever we are doing and going to the PC and pulling up yahoo. I've never had to bring it beyond #2 - it works better than anything else I have come up with for the times she gets difficult.