I'm often asking my kids if they want to do something active with me, such as throwing the football, shooting baskets, playing tennis, throwing the Frisbee, etc. While they say yes occasionally, most of the time they say no.

But if I start doing one of these activities with someone else, they often want to join in. This happened three or four times during a recent family vacation, and I could tell they were into it at least in part because it was their idea to participate.

I did a lot of these sort of activities with my dad growing up, and was usually on the asking end. Dad was good about doing these things with me, and I've always wanted to do things like this with my kids.

There are many strategies to interest kids in sports or other healthy activities. This may be one to consider; it's worked well for me.