Week 5: Get Moving with your Child

Get Moving!

Why Physical Fitness is so important for Young Children

This week we are discussing your child and getting them moving with exercise! We all know that exercise is an essential component for overall wellness (Robertson, 2013), and this includes your little ones. Promoting physical activity in young children not only helps with their wellness, but also helps in preventing obesity, and just results in an overall healthier child (Robertson). The goal with young children is for them to physically active at least 60 minutes of every day of the week (Robertson). By being physically active children are developing their gross motor skills, their fine motor skills and working on their own self-confidence and self-esteem.

 What will this look like though for your preschooler and why is it so important to their overall well-being?

• ·         Physical activity is crucial for a preschooler because it offers them the opportunity to build up their gross motor or locomotor skills (Robertson, 2013). Your preschooler is learning how to run, hop, skip, climb and jump. They are also learning how to kick, throw and catch and all of these activities help your child build endurance, and strength. Getting them outside and in an environment where they can be active is crucial for them in order to strengthen these gross and fine motor skills. Getting them active can be accomplished in many ways: bike riding, jump roping, running, running games such as tag or chase, a game of hopscotch, soccer, swimming and even a dance break in the middle of the afternoon.

• ·         What if physical fitness is not a priority in your life? It is never too late to change that! Get moving with your child. Ride bikes, kick a soccer ball back and forth, take a walk around the block or even dig out your old baseball glove and play a game of catch. All of these help your child in working on their gross motor skills and fine motor skills. This not only allows you to spend quality time with your young child, but gets you both active. Becoming more active with your child not only increases their personal wellness but yours as well! After all, research has shown that daily exercise reduces stress, improves self-confidence, and leaves you feeling happier overall (Breene, 2013). Why not have a happy parent and child?

• ·         What about in school? What kind of physical activities should your child do in school? An early childhood setting, such as preschool, should always have teachers that encourage children to be active and provide opportunities for a child to increase their physical activity levels (Robertson, 2013). There are multiple creative ways a teacher can get children to move and be active while in school. Schools often utilize a playground, bikes, and monkey bars to keep kids moving, but they do not have to stop there. Teachers can also turn on some music and dance with their students, decide that an obstacle course is in order, play outdoor games that elevate heart rates. The possibilities are not only fun, but endless!

• ·         Get involved! There are many activities within your community that your child can become involved in. Is there something in particular that they are interested in or have a love for? Perhaps they love to swim, why not enroll them in swim lessons? If they love to play soccer there are many soccer leagues that have groupings just for preschoolers. Preschoolers at a wonderful age to try a wide variety of new and fun activities. Better yet, see if it is an activity you can do together. These community activities not only get your child active, but also help them develop necessary social skills, as well as build their self-esteem and self-confidence.

•   I will leave you with this thought: “You don’t have to go fast, you just have to GO!”  In the long run it does not matter what activity you do with your preschooler as long as you are doing something fun and active with them. If your goal is to get them out and moving for at least 60 minutes a day, then let it be whatever is fun and safe for them. Preschoolers are ever changing, ever developing little humans and that must be allowed for when they are out and active. The point is to simply get them exercising in some capacity. One day that may be riding their bike, the next it could be a trip to the park to kick a soccer ball around, it does not matter, just go, enjoy it, and enjoy them!

References:

Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Breene, S., (2013). 13 mental health benefits of exercise. The Huffintgton Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/mental-health-benefits-exercise_n_2956099.html