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If you are a parent and you are physically active, you will likely want to encourage your children to follow in your footsteps. Even if you aren't one to don the running/hiking shoes or hit the gym with unbridled enthusiasm, you may still hope to get your family moving a little more. 

Regardless of our relationship with fitness as adults, it's hard to deny the positive benefits children experience from conscious movement. With that in mind, check out these three affordable (and fun!) fitness activities to get the entire family moving. 

First, get your little ones excited about exercise. 

Like us grown-ups, every child is different. While some have a natural affinity for exercise and sports, others aren't as enthused by the idea. One of the first steps in encouraging your kids to move more is to involve them in choosing the activities. 

Of course, it helps if you make the process fun. So get the kids involved in some exercise-related arts and crafts as part of the educating/planning stages. Try making stickers using workout clipart to put together a mini-movement plan as a family. You could even take the concept of a task chart one step further by creating an exercise chart instead. 

To emphasise the importance of warming up and cooling down, use yoga clipart to create a poster as inspiration for pre and post-exercise stretches. Yoga is also a fantastic way to introduce mindfulness to your children from a young age to encourage mind and body health. 

Now your kids are suitably enthused about exercise, let's look at some affordable fitness activities. 

Who doesn't love a dance party?

It's time to party with the kids like it's 1999: even though to the little ones, that may as well be prehistoric times. You won't have time to get down about how quickly time moves because you'll be busy getting down with the latest dance moves. 

The great thing about a family dance party is it's fun for all ages and despite feeling the burn, it's unlikely that anyone will feel like this is a chore. You can bust out some choreographed moves as a family or let your imagination run wild with some freestyle moves. 

So long as you have some space to move, fun tunes to get everyone up on the make-shift dance floor, and something to play your music on, you're good to go. 

Overcoming obstacles & leaping over hurdles

If the title didn't give away, we're talking *drum roll* about building a make-shift obstacle course. You can make your course inside or outside if you're lucky enough to have a garden. Use pillows, blankets, paper plates and other household/garden items that children can run around, jump over or crawl under safely. 

What a beautiful day for a bear hunt 

Next time a sunny day comes along, get the whole family outdoors either in the garden, the nearest park, or pick a local walking route for a good old fashioned bear hunt. Not only is this a fantastic activity to get the whole family moving, but it's also a brilliant opportunity to encourage your child's imagination. 

All you need is an outdoor space and the song lyrics to "I'm Going on a Bear Hunt." Get the children moving by acting out the different elements of the song. And you can even end your bear hunt with a Teddy Bears picnic featuring an array of healthy and affordable snacks.