Mother sets an athletic example for kids

by Ashley Walker WAL02016@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Imagine a little boy scoring a goal and the crowd cheering. Most children at this moment search the stadium looking for their parents’ approval. But instead this child looks right at the coach — his mom.

DeAnn Fipps, from Fallon, Nev., coaches soccer and is involved in softball, volleyball, gymnastics and water skiing. She has also raised six children.

“Physical activity strengthens the body, sharpens the mind, heals emotions, restores sagging self-esteem and generally makes people feel good about themselves,” Victor M. Parachin, said in the May 2000 issue of Vibrant Life.

Rylie Johnson, Fipps’ daughter and a graduate of BYU-Idaho from Eureka, Nev., remembers her mom being active and athletic during her childhood. She admired her mom for this.

“It’s a good part of our relationship. It gave us quality time together,” she said.

Fipp’s athletic lifestyle encouraged her kids to do the same. Johnson is very athletic herself and mentioned how it improved the family’s unity by teaching them teamwork.

“Too many kids watch too much television, play too many video games and eat too much high-fat junk food,” Parachin said.

Being an example to children encourages them to be active. Fipps involvement not only served as a role model, but also kept her in touch and involved in her children’s lives.

Johnson hopes to set the same example for her children as her own mother did. She has a 3-month-old girl.

“She already has her own basketball,” Johnson said.

She wants to be supportive of her daughter and encourage her to be involved in athletics.

“The best way to encourage kids to get regular exercise is to do so yourself,” Kaitlin O’Shea, an exercise physiologist and fitness-projects director for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in Reston said.

“Children need to have people in their lives show them what it means to be a ‘happy mover.’”