SALT LAKE CITY — My kids are at a very impressionable age. The other day I caught my youngest daughter playing in her room. Her stuffed animals were lined up in a row and she was addressing each one individually, giving them instructions.

“Boston Bear, I told you three times to clean your room. Spike, did you not hear me say pick up your toys?” she demanded as she shook her head in despair.

When I asked her what she was doing, she gave me that look that tells me I’m missing something obvious.

“I’m being mom,” she answered.

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It's that time of year again. The time of year when I happily cram myself and five other people into a tiny van for two days and run around the Wasatch Back, making my way from Logan to Park City on foot.

Yep, kids are sponges. They soak up everything we say and do, even if they don’t look like they even know we’re in the room.

As my husband and I watched the HBO documentary series “The Weight of the Nation,” I realized even more the influence my actions have on my kids. I realize that no parent is perfect. Some days are full of victories while others are wrought with failure. But there are certain lessons that are critical to me that I pass on.

Among them is the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Much of the documentary focused on parental responsibility for the obesity epidemic our country is facing. Kids will most often choose Skittles over a salad bar if given the option, but who’s giving them the option? Adults are.

It is my job as a mother to raise kids who are happy, caring, responsible individuals who contribute to society more than they take.

I also know that children learn more by our actions than by our words. That’s where running comes in.

Now, I don’t believe that the only healthy lifestyle is a running lifestyle. It’s my exercise of choice, but I realize it’s not for everyone. It may not even be for my kids. Sure, I dream of running side by side with my daughters. I dream of running races, even marathons, with them one day. But those are my dreams, not necessarily theirs.

What I want them to take away from my running is that living a healthy lifestyle makes us happier, more productive people. Every day my kids see me doing something active. If it’s not running, it’s cycling, swimming or weight training. Some days it’s a walk around the neighborhood.

I realize that I am blessed with a body that functions well. I realize that it is a gift that I even have the choice to run, swim, bike, lift, play. It’s a gift I never take for granted, not for a moment. It’s also a gift I don’t want my children or myself to waste.

When I lived in Eugene, Ore., being active was a lifestyle. My dad biked to work. There were always people running. It was during the running boom of the early 1980s, and we lived near the University of Oregon, where my mom, and most of my family, went to school. It was also home to Steve Prefontaine, a running legend who died shortly before I was born. It was a running haven, but for me it was just home.

As a kid, running and biking weren’t activities people did to lose weight or to fit into a tighter pair of skinny jeans. It was just something they did because it was fun and it felt good.

I want my daughters to grow up feeling the same.

We don’t diet in our house. We eat well. We indulge occasionally. I don’t obsess over pounds, but I eat foods that make me feel good. I have come to realize foods that turn my fingers day-glo orange don’t make me feel like a million bucks, but foods I can name and spell do.

I run and eat right to feel good more than to look good. The looking good part is a nice bonus. Our home is littered with running and biking magazines rather than fashion magazines. Ice cream sundaes are embraced but reserved for weekend treats. Doughnuts are a post-race staple but, overall, a rarity. My kids are learning healthy habits by practicing healthy habits.

Exercise in our home is seen as something fun. It’s not a punishment for poor eating but a reward of healthy living. Everyone in my family knows my favorite date night is a bike ride with my husband. I love a day at the pool swimming with the kids. We make race days exciting and celebrate every finish whether it’s a 10K or a Kids’ K. I love to connect with my daughters as we walk around the lake.

My oldest daughter is on a track team now. She is aware that it is her choice and if she commits, she sees it through to the end of the season. But if at the end of the season she decides it’s no longer fun, we find an alternate activity. But there will always be activity.

While my kids are under my care, I will do all I can to provide a healthy environment and teach them now the benefits of taking care of these fantastic bodies. I will teach them to care for and love who they are. I will teach them that the best rewards don’t come in the form of Twinkies or tight jeans, but in the form of strong hearts and lungs that propel us forward.

There will be no lectures. No yelling. No scolding. I will simply teach them by doing. That said, I think it’s time for a run.

Kim Cowart is a wife, mother, 24-Hour Fitness instructor and marathoner who wishes that the example of her weekly dusting routine would rub off on her kids soon. Read more of her work on the Deseret News blog, Reasons to Run.

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