The best way to both track your child's progress and keep her motivated is to have her keep an exercise journal where she can log her daily activities. This can be incorporated into her daily dietary journal or kept as a separate book. Initially, the book is used to gauge your child's baseline, or beginning fitness and activity levels. As she progresses, she can use it to challenge herself to higher levels of activity and physical achievements. It also serves as a constant reminder of the importance of daily exercise.

Filling in the Blanks

At a minimum, an activity journal should have entries for the date, type, and amount of activities performed throughout the day, and a total time tally for physical activity for the day. A space for personal notes may also be helpful; your child can use it to write down his thoughts on new activities he's sampling. Daily or weekly planners are ideal for this purpose, but a spiral notebook or loose-leaf paper in a binder or folder will work just as well. Leave a page for each day (more if your child is still learning to read and using pictures). It may make it easier on your child if you create labels for each section. For instance, you could have a section for exercise before school (what and how long); exercise at school (what and how long); exercise after school (what and how long). Older kids can also calculate how many calories they've burned each day, which also helps sharpen their math skills. Table 10-1 offers some calculations of average calories burned during physical activities. See Appendix A for a sample activity journal entry.

Table 10-1: Average Calories Burned During Physical Activities

*Source: National Institutes of Health. Based on calories burned for a 150-pound person. Calories burned will vary by body weight. More weight means more calories burned; less weight means fewer calories burned.

Reaching Goals

After your child has experienced a variety of different sports and workout routines and begins to focus on those activities he enjoys, he may find it helpful to add a “Goals” page to his journal. The idea is to make the new challenges both reachable and motivating. For example, a goal might be to ride his bike on a particularly hilly route without stopping, or to swim an extra length in the pool. As soon as the goal is achieved, he can establish a new one in his journal. This log of his personal bests provides a tangible record of the progress he's making, and it is a good source for reflection when he's feeling down or unmotivated.

The activity journal will only motivate your child if she remembers to write in it daily. Set aside a specific time each day to have her work on her activity journal, such as before bed or after dinner. The idea is to make it habitual so it's as natural as brushing her teeth before bed. A few months from now, when she looks back at where she was when she started this journey, and how far she's come, she'll be amazed at her progress.