With all of the talk about childhood obesity and the increased emphasis on the importance of exercise in children, parents are pushing now more than ever to encourage their children to enjoy physical activity.

But how do you get your kids to exercise when they’d much rather be playing video games or watching TV?

US News and World Report recently published a great article with five tips for parents who are trying to get their kids to exercise. Here are the gems from this article.

First, the article urges parents to encourage their children to exercise in moderation. CEO of the American Heart Association Nancy Brown states, “Kids should be doing things appropriate for their age, so that [exercise] becomes a behavior and a natural part of what they do.” And they don’t have to get all of their exercise in during one sitting—a few minutes here and there is fine at first.

Do you live in an area that doesn’t have kid-friendly outdoors? Are there safe bike paths and sidewalks throughout your neighborhood? If not, advocate for these perks—kids love playing outside, and you’ll be more likely to encourage your child to play outdoors if he or she can be safe while doing so.

The article’s third tip is to take up exercising yourself.

Your kids will be much more likely to give in to your encouragement if he or she can see that you are also exercising regularly.

Does your child favor video games over all else? Use this to your advantage. There are plenty of video games, like WiiFit,  that are designed to get the player up and moving around—encourage your child to enjoy these video games instead of those that require him or her to sit still for hours on end.

Finally, don’t let physical disabilities or other activities limit your children. Even children with physical disabilities need exercise. Executive Director of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education Charlene Burgeson says, “Not being physically active isn’t the way to go. If students have health issues or disabilities, there may be a way to modify the activity. By not giving them that activity, we’re really doing them an injustice.”