For Families

This section has many ideas for specific activities that parents can do to promote fitness for their children, while having fun together as a family.

Blind Kids Love Sports, Too! Future Reflections, National Federation of the Blind
Tom Balek discusses the role that parents can play in helping their blind children enjoy sports, both as participants and spectators.

Fit for Life; Future Reflections, National Federation of the Blind
Jennifer Butcher, a physical education teacher who is blind, offers suggestions to get blind children moving, using the strategy of "the four Es": expose, excite, explore, and engage.

Fun, Fitness, and Family; Future Reflections, National Federation of the Blind
Parent Barbara Mathews advises others to get out and have fun!  She describes some of the activities that her family has done together, such as hiking, camping, skiing, and rock climbing.

Get Off the Couch and Onto the Bandwagon; Future Reflections, National Federation of the Blind
Seth Lamkin discusses the importance of exercise and fitness, and describes some of the available options to help children who are blind to be more active. 

Good Habits, Good Health; FamilyConnect™: For Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
This article lists considerations and safety precautions for parents when their children with visual impairments engage in sports and outdoor activities.

Home Activities; Project Inspire
These family activities assist children in the area of motor development.

How Does a Blind Child Play? Blind Children's Resource Center
Doris Willoughby shares many practical ideas for adapting activities, with specific suggestions for racing, ball games, target games, and trampoline.

Physical Education and Sports; FamilyConnect™ : For Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
Parents will find many suggestions to parents on how they can help their children to "make the grade" in physical education.

Research

Beliefs about Physical Activity Among Children Who Are Visually Impaired and Their Parents; Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
This survey investigates parents' attitudes to their children's physical activity and the barriers faced by their children. "…[A]s vision loss increased, parents' expectations for their children's ability to be physically active decreased, as did the children's views that physical activity is important or useful."