Get Them Moving

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been doing some research on the benefits of movement in education. Not only are there obvious healthy benefits of physical activity, but children also pay attention for longer periods of time, have less behavior problems, and higher achievement. I know of these obvious benefits but when  saw the statistics, I was absolutely alarmed.

Here are just a few highlighted by the CDC. 

• Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.^{1, 2}
• The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.^{1, 2}
• In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.¹
• Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors.³ Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.⁴
• Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.^5,6

I am currently on my own fitness and health journey and my 3 kids are coming along with me. Not only do I want to help myself but I want to help others including children. It is not an image thing or a mental thing. It comes down to quality of life, long term health, and overall benefits.

So what can we do for our kids?
The average child watches 4.5 hours of TV every day and has a total of 7 hours of screen time each day. Unplug! Limit the time! I know it is a great babysitter but we are hurting our kids by allowing them that much time in front of the TV. Children under 2 should not be in front of a screen and children older than 2 should be limited to 1-2 hours a day.

Get them moving. Preschoolers should have at least 3 hours of physical activity every day and school aged children should have at least an hour pf physical activity each day. This doesn't mean they need to at the gym lifting weights or even doing high intensity training. They can simply play and run around. It doesn't even need to be done at one time. The hour can be broken up into chunks throughout the day.

Our Favorite Movement Activities-
Tag
Just Dance
Dance parties
walks
bike rides
baseball
park play
basketball
hiking
soccer
catch
yard work

How to get started-
Make it a part of your day! Do it together. It is the best family time. Join sports teams. Have fun. Keep it age appropriate. Track it!

I challenge you to track your physical activity as a family this week. Do your children get at least an hour a day?

 http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm

Nina Pears