Goodbye failed New Year’s resolutions and HELLO family fun and fitness all year long! This year as you create your health and fitness goals, why not get the whole family involved? Kids have a way of keeping us honest and a commitment to your family may even be the key to staying on track. The good news is you can accomplish all this at your local YMCA in 2024.
“All seven YMCA locations have so much to offer families,” says Latitia McCree-Thomas, Senior Vice President of Communications and Marketing at YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit. “From climbing walls to swimming pools and monthly Parents Night Out, plus our nationally recognized summer camp programs, families have so many different ways to thrive at the Y.”
Here are four reasons why making family fitness a priority can benefit everyone, plus one big reason the Y should be your go-to family fitness place:
1.You can lead by example
As parents, we are role models for our kids. When we show excitement about Zumba or yoga, our kids recognize exercise as something that boosts happiness and energy. Fitness class schedules at the Y are developed with families in mind. You do Les Mills Body Pump and your kids take swim lessons or play basketball at the same time. You all go home happier and healthier.
2. Help build healthy habits early
Childhood is the time to cement routines to extend into adulthood. Starting healthy habits like regular exercise at a young age makes it more likely kids will continue them as they get older. Taking family walks, playing sports together or enjoying family swim at the Y teaches kids that being active should be part of everyday life. The YMCA makes it easy to create family memories your kids will long remember.
3. Strengthen relationships
Exercising together gives families valuable time to talk, play and disconnect from electronics and other distractions. Kids often open up more when they’re engaged in an activity with you. Try new forms of exercise and even do family crafts at the many family events your local YMCA hosts throughout the year — there’s nothing better for bonding as a family!
4. Reduce stress and improve everyone’s mood
If your child isn’t in a swim, sports or gymnastics class of their own, they can attend Child Watch, YMCA’s engaging child care available for free with your family membership. Child Watch is a safe place for your child to play, have fun and make friends. At the same time, you get some valuable stress-reducing exercise with a nationally certified personal trainer, in a fitness class or with 100+ cardio and fitness machines in the YMCA’s wellness center. Everyone has a place to thrive.
The YMCA is so much more than an exercise facility — it’s a place where families can spend time together in healthy activities. “Your local Y is a great fitness center, that’s true. But the Y is also a nonprofit committed to helping everyone thrive at every life stage. It’s a very special place for families,” says McCree-Thomas.
The best part? Your family membership is less than $3 a day. Where else can you get so much for the whole family for such an affordable price? And, because everyone belongs at the Y, income-based memberships for families with a combined annual household income of less than $49,000 are available through the Y For All membership program. What are you waiting for?
Learn more and get your own family membership at the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit. Visit ymcadetroit.org.