Sunday, September 22, 2013

Family Walking

iPhone photo of Eason family on the Cross County Connector Trail in Fairfax, VA

Feature: Family Walking

Weight, coinage, and GPS are set aside to speak to the virtues of a family walking.  Today’s walk was a generational experience with grandparents, parents, and grandchildren sharing a 3 miler.
One benefit of family walking allows the adults to model healthy behavior for the children and grandchildren.  Being overweight or obese as a child leads to heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes during the adult years.  For mainstream adults, walking is an inexpensive antidote for these major killers, and new data are convincing that walking prevents dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in the aged.
Our walk fostered excellent conversation between the adults, and both children including 11 month Payton and 2 yr, 9 month Paxton gaining ample opportunities to hear and be heard.  Cell phones, computer games, the internet, and household chores were all set aside in the Virginia walking paths.  Thus, regular family walking improves family relationships by building mutual respect achieved through understanding that comes from quality conversation and shared pleasures.  Some families find that walking at the end of a day is a splendid way to unwind as thoughts of the day are shared.
Our destination was a modest playground about 1.5 miles from a trailhead.  Young Paxton walked the entire way. There as the two children played on the equipment with other children, we adults exchanged pleasantries with the other adults.  Parents that take frequent family walks report that the walking habit is an effective way of getting to know their neighbors.  It is easy to understand how a neighborhood walk with the family and where neighbors are met leads to a sense of community that feels safer and more connected.
The Moneywalker has rarely felt more relaxed and happy while enjoying quality time with his adult family members and their children than from this stimulating family walk.
MoneyWalker

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