Active families
Almost every parent I know has experienced how much easier kids are to manage when they've had a chance to get out and exercise rather than stay trapped inside. There's also plenty of research that supports this theory, showing that active kids are able to control themselves better, focus better, and learn better, all on top of the obvious health benefits that come with increased physical activity.
Why is it then that most kids spend so much of their time being inactive? A 2011 study indicated that only about 5 per cent of youth in Canada get the hour of physical activity that health professionals recommend for healthy bodies and minds, the activity that parents know also helps with behavioural issues. Studies as recent as 2013 show that the situation has not improved much since.
There is a wide variety of factors that contribute to this inactivity, but here are a few steps that you can take to help ensure that your kids are more active.
1. Limit their screen time — There's some debate about how much time children should spend in front of screens and monitors, but even the most generous estimates recommend that they spend less than two hours a day. Yet, surveys show that even very young children often exceed this guideline. More importantly, there is some evidence that time spent in front of screens is even worse for a child's health than other kinds of sedentary activity like reading or painting, because children are less likely to interrupt their screen time to move around.
2. Be active as a family — As in all things, children's behaviour is strongly influenced by their family culture. Plan family time playing active games, going for hikes, playing sports, swimming, snowshoeing, or whatever it is that you like to do. Not only will it get you active, but it will make you closer as a family.
3. Model activity yourself — Children look to their parents as an example, so model an active life. Pick up your favourite sport again, go for walks as a couple or with friends, join a yoga club, whatever. Just make sure that your kids see you doing more than sitting in front of your cell phones. You'll probably find that it does you some good along the way.
4. Schedule activity — I'm not talking about a rigid schedule that makes people stressed about not getting places on time, or enrolling kids in high intensity sports programs if that's not what makes them happy. I'm talking about putting in your calendar regular times to be active, whether it's the kids playing with their friends at the park, or the family going skiing, or you getting to basketball a couple times a week.
It's easy to make excuses here, to let the kids amuse themselves with their video games all evening while we get lost in our favourite virtual addiction, but the health of our children and our families require more of us.
Luke Hill is a stay-at-home father of three boys, aged nine, seven, and three. He has fathered, fostered, adopted, or provided a temporary home for kids anywhere between birth and university. He has taught college courses, adoption seminars, camp groups, Sunday School classes, rugby teams, not to mention his own homeschooled kids.
