Childhood obesity has become a major health problem in America. About 16% of children ages 11-17 are overweight, which can have a lifelong effect on health and self-image. The focus on childhood obesity tends to point to school activities and school lunches, but a recent study at Ohio State University found that the time when kids can gain the most weight is over the summer break.
One of the best ways to keep kids healthy is to keep them active, but it isn't always easy to come up with new ways to get them moving - here are some starters:
Plan family activities like bike rides or hikes which physically engages everyone. Seeing you exercise and put a priority on physical health will teach them the importance of it.
Give them chores. Not everything is fun and games. Having regular, assigned chores like washing the dishes, mowing the lawn, or washing the car not only teaches kids responsibility, it's also an aerobic activity.
Sign them up for a class or team. Have your kids learn basketball, baseball, or soccer. Teach them to dance or swim. The habits we learn as children stay with us, and exciting, fun, or social activities are a great way to keep kids active, and enjoying it. A lot of communities offer free or low cost classes; so find if there are any available in your area.
Make a family fitness chart, and track everyone's fitness goals - kids should be getting an hour of physical activity a day. If the family reaches it for a week, set up a prize that you can enjoy as a family.
Take your kids to the playground, and play with them. Kids aren't the only ones who need exercise, but they do come up with some fun ways to do it. Join their game of tag or play a pick up game of basketball. Race them. Letting go and playing with them is a great way to ensure that your kids are active, and safe.
Active sentences give your copywriting spark and drive, energising your sales message with words that enliven the reader and encourage them to act. Indeed, just employing this one technique in your copywriting could make the difference between securing a sale and losing one.
If you use passive sentences in your copywriting, they often appear awkward and flat, and you run the risk of your message being boring. Just think about it, you wouldn't buy from a boring salesperson, so why should you feel compelled to act upon limp and uninteresting copywriting?
So how do we actually write active sentences? Firstly, it's important to understand how each type of sentence works. Let's start with the active sentence.
Active Sentences
In an active sentence, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. In other words, the subject ?acts' ? and this gives the sentence its drive and spark.
Here's an example:
The dog bit the man
In this sentence, ?the dog' is the subject of the sentence, and the man is the object ? with the verb in the middle driving the dog's action.
Here's another example, can you pick out the relevant parts of the sentence as discussed above?
The princess kissed the frog
The verbs in active sentences can take on a number of tenses, these are:
- Simple Present, eg - I like sport - Present Progressive, eg - I am playing football now - Simple Past, eg - We visited the park yesterday - Past Progressive, eg - They were running for three hours - Future, eg - I'll get up late tomorrow - Present Perfect, eg - He has lived here for twenty years - Present Perfect Progressive, eg - Mike has been walking for five hours, and he hasn't finished yet - Past Perfect, eg - John said he'd gone to the cinema - Future Perfect, eg - He won't have finished his work until 5 pm
Passive Sentences
When using the passive voice in a sentence, the subject is acted upon or receives the action expressed in the verb. For example, going back to our first sentence above:
The boy was bitten by the dog
Another example is:
The princess was kissed by the frog
In addition, the verbs in passive sentences take on the following tenses:
- Simple Present, eg ? Cars are shipped to many foreign countries - Present Progressive, eg ? The food is being prepared - Simple Past, eg ? The parcel was delivered yesterday - Past Progressive, eg ? An announcement was being made - Future, eg ? The groceries will be picked up - Present Perfect, eg ? The arrangements have been made for us - Past Perfect, eg ? We've been given visas for six months - Modals, eg ? The TV can be used - Subject/Object, eg - The woman was sent a package - By, eg - They are often taken to the football by their friends
In most cases, your copywriting will be clearer and more direct if you choose to write active sentences. This is especially important when writing sales material, as you want the reader to act upon your words.
Try rewriting a piece of your copywriting using just the active voice, then compare it to the original ? you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much more kick the second draft has.
Both Empoweredd & Laurence James are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Empoweredd has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Allergies and Health Care. To find more relatd articles please visit and. Empoweredd's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.
Laurence James has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health Care, Brochures and Internet Marketing. An English graduate from the University of Birmingham and professionally trained journalist at postgraduate level, Laurence James has been for over ten years.. Laurence James's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.