Remember last Saturday, when you came downstairs to regard your kid having potato chips and chocolate milk for breakfast, while parked in front of a tiny screen, vanquishing one computer-generated foe after the other?
Well, now’s the time for doing and moving, Danielle Rudash said.
As in jumping, rolling, rocking and generally flailing about for fun — and serious purpose.
From 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 7, the sports-minded expanse on Chaplin Road is staging its inaugural “Keep Your Kids Movin’ Winterpalooza” at the Hazel and J.W. Ruby Community Center.
Bounce houses will abound, along with laser tag, mini-golf and other fun fitness activities, said Rudash, who programs community activities at the park.
West Virginia has its country roads, but the place isn’t always big on cardio, Rudash said.
The nation’s overall inclination toward a sedentary lifestyle doesn’t help either.
One in every five children and teenagers across the U.S. are affected by obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And those children, the CDC says, continue to grow out as they grow up.
More than 70% of Americans over the age of 20 are already obese or overweight, the health watchdog organization says.
Being saddled with the above at a young age means medical issues down the line that can make one’s golden years not so golden, Rudash said.
The cold temperatures and biting wind-chills of recent days didn’t help, she said.
Nor did the overall effects of the COVID quarantine of three years ago, she added.
After all, she said, you can’t let it all go at recess when you’re sequestered at home — with lethargy and listlessness riding high at the top of the list.
Riding at the top for Mylan Park for the past several weeks has been the “Keep Your Kids Movin’ Winterpalooza,” Rudash said.
She sketched it out quickly in November, as she was looking for a big event to launch a new year at the park.
All-day tickets are $20 for the event, and while there have been some online sales — visit https://mylanpark.org/ for full details — Rudash said the bulk of the trade will occur when parents drive their kids to the park, to buy their tickets at door.
A magic show with limited seating is also part of the day.
The real magic, Rudash said, will come in the form of all that whooping and calorie-burning, when the palooza hits stride.
“When you’re working out or riding a bike or just having fun by being active and staying active, you’re benefiting every aspect of your health,” she said.
“Physical health, emotional health. That’s our mission today.”
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