If your sunscreen bottle is just as full in September as it is today, your kids might have missed summer, and the opportunity that comes along with it: summer is a fresh chance to make great changes.

A client of mine said that her biggest regret with her children is that she didn't show them how to be physically fit. Since her priority was not fitness, her children's priorities were not, either.

As parents, we know how competitive sports are, and if your child is not a natural athlete, you know how much cajoling, coaxing and even bribing it takes to get your child involved.

I dragged my son to swim practice for almost six months, convinced that he would start liking it again. He never did and we had many tears, "illnesses" and way too many "Why do I have to do this?" questions. We put him in swimming after tendonitis at both heels prevented any activity where he was on his feet.

Summer Family Activities • Enjoy an easy hike on one of Placerita Canyon Nature Center's trails • Walk or ride your bike to a casual neighborhood restaurant with healthy food options • Visit Santa Clarita's Aquatics Center and see which family member can get the shortest time racing down the water slide • Take in the sights at Vasquez Rocks and explore the unique desert environment on foot (be sure to bring plenty of water) • Rent an air-conditioned racquetball (or volleyball or basketball) court at the Santa Clarita Activities Center • Take the kids to the Santa Clarita Skate Park, located behind the Santa Clarita Activities Center

We took him out of swimming and it seemed like nothing was left. It was excruciating watching him play video games, go to the movies, hang out with friends and eat fast food while he was out on his own.

We had to get him moving again. Thankfully, he still loved the ocean. We took him, along with his boogie board and skim board, as often as our schedules would allow. Summer vacation was at the side of the ocean, but that's not all.

He started showing off how well he could balance on his knees on our exercise ball at home, so we turned it into a game. We enforced his physical education homework from school - the push-ups and the sit-ups. We grasped at whatever movement we could fit into a day. If it was one minute, it was one minute that he wouldn't have done otherwise.

Later, we found out that part of what he hated about swimming was the one-on-one competition. He missed the group effort and camaraderie. We tried water polo and it has stuck.

What changes can you make to increase your child's physical activity level this summer? Have they been scared off by sports? I remember my son saying (in fourth grade!) that he didn't want to play volleyball on the recreational team "because all the kids who do that have been doing it for years."

What does this mean? Quite simply, you will be setting the volleyball or badminton net up in the backyard. You will be going to the pool and engaging your child in fun games. You will be swinging on the swings, running up and down the jungle gym, playing baseball, football, kickball, roller hockey and whatever else it takes to get your kids excited about being active.

Invite their friends; this is very important if you ever want a time out. I bought hockey sticks and pucks years ago and showed my son and his friend how to play.

It takes a lot of work to change a habit. If your kids are in the habit of being inactive it will be hard to break. It will take the discipline of putting something on your calendar and not letting yourself out of it.

Start with something easy that excites them. Maybe Hurricane Harbor, or dinner once a week at the neighborhood pool. Tell friends that you'll be there. It'll be a weekly party before you know it. You can start with air hockey at the arcade, bowling at our local alleys or playing miniature golf. These options are lighter on the exercise end but the idea is to begin with activities that are fun.

On a final note, don't combine these fun times with unhealthy eating habits. In other words, don't make it a ritual to get a milkshake on the way home from miniature golf or cookies after the arcade.

If there is one way to make life easier for our children over their lifetimes, it is through helping them achieve better health.


Karena Lineback is the author of "OsteoPilates: Reduce Risk, Increase Bone Density, Look and Feel Great" and the president of Pilates Teck, Inc. in Newhall.