Do high tech and physical activity mix?

It is important to introduce and maintain a physically active lifestyle early on so that it becomes a habit and a discipline. How can young people be made to pursue a more active lifestyle?

American studies show that more and more children are becoming overweight in the last 30 years. The culprit? High technology. Apparently, children are spending more time lazing in front of the television or sitting in front of the computer. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the average child watches about 3 hours of television each day. The Kaiser Family Foundation, on the other hand, says that an average kid now spends 5 Vi hours on all sorts of media which offer a lot of entertainment without requiring physical exertion.

Sadly, kids don't get much physical activity in school either. In the Philippines, the Basic Education Curriculum 2002 (BEC) of the Department of Education (DepED) has moved Physical Education from the mainstream curriculum to lump it with other noncore subjects under what is now known as Makabayan. The result? Less time for sports and physical education.

Even the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (unesco) recognizes the importance of physical education and sport. The Berlin Agenda for Action for Ministers (developed during the World Summit on Physical Education, 1999) states that physical education is "the most effective and inclusive means of providing all children ... with the skills, attitudes, values, knowledge and understanding for lifelong participation in physical activity and sport." It also "helps to ensure integrated and rounded development of mind, body, and spirit" and is the "only school subject whose primary focus is on the body, physical activity, physical development, and health."

The Agenda also affirms that physical education contributes to, among others, capacity building (skills and confidence); sustainable sports systems; enjoyable and positive school life; and healthy lifestyles (less risk behaviors and less injuries from poor posture, balance, etc.).Keep children away from sedentary activities such as watching TV and playing computer or video games.

Start incorporating some form of physical activity into your kids' everyday routine. Better, get involved in these activities yourselves—if you find being active fun, so will your kids. Here are some tips for raising a physically fit kid:

• Limit television, movies, videos, and computer games to less than two hours a day. Instead, engage children in old-fashioned games such as patintero, habulan (tag), taguan, or tumbang preso. Apart from being physical activities, such games promote team play, cooperation, and competition.
• Walk or get on the bike as much as possible. Use the stairs instead of elevators and escalators.
• Let the children do some household chores that require physical exertion like sweeping and
  scrubbing floors, washing the dishes, washing the windows, and taking out the garbage. Apart from opportunities for exercise, such assignments also teach responsibility.
• Enroll the children in sports and other physical activities that interest them. Some activities are better learned during childhood like swimming and skating.
• Include in family outings and vacations vigorous activities such as hiking, bicycling, swimming, and others.
• Let children take a break from the rigidity of schoolwork by letting them do the homework after dinner.
• Choose fitness-oriented gifts—a jump rope, a pair of skates, or badminton racket. Be sure to select a gift based on your kids' skills and interests.
• Check out recreation opportunities within the community and sign up. Such activities not only promote physical fitness but also allow for socializing.

The Importance Of Being Active

Exercises help build strength and tone and strengthen the muscles. For adults, push-ups, stomach crunches, and pull-ups are a few examples of exercises that can promote strength. But for your growing kids, letting them go on with play—running, jumping, swimming, hanging from the monkey bars—may be good enough.

Flexibility allows the body a range of motions without causing pain. Stretching activities can help improve flexibility that lets muscles and joints to bend and move easily.

The Benefits Of Physical Activity

Medical studies have confirmed that physical exertion lowers risk of colon cancer, increases bone density, controls weight, develops physical fitness, lowers blood pressure, prevents or delays the development of high blood pressure, among others.

To reap the benefits of physical activity, it is recommended to engage in at least low to moderate levels of activities throughout the day. Walking briskly, biking, climbing up and down a flight of stairs, playing games, and doing house chores all contribute to accumulated physical activity.

Children need about 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Let them play. Enroll them in sports activities such as ball games, swimming, and other rule-based sports. Such structured forms of activities not only keep the muscles moving and the heart pumping steadily but also sculpt the muscles for a better-toned body.

from PLAY to SPORTS

Research on the brain shows that play is a platform for development, a vehicle for increasing neural structures, and a means by which all children practice skills they will need later in life, wrote Joan Packer Isenberg and Nancy Quisenberry, of the US Association for Childhood Education International, in their position paper "PLAY: ESSENTIAL FOR ALL CHILDREN."

Play provides the conditions for learning, and so, the same research, according to the paper, somehow raises questions to those who view play as trivial, simple, frivolous, unimportant and purposeless behavior and challenges them to recognize play for what it is—a serious behavior that has a powerful influence on learning.

Let Your Children Play

Have you seriously thought of play and toys as basic elements in your kids' education? Play and toys are a means through which they learn to understand the world around them. Basic skills in life are primarily learned through play and toys.

Child experts have identified a number of reasons behind the importance of play.

• Physical development. When your children play, they are engaged in a physical activity, which is closely related to the development and refinement of his gross and fine motor skills, including body awareness. As they use their bodies during play, they are also able to refine and develop skills that make them confident, secure, and self-assured.
• Social and emotional development. As your kids grow, they start to develop the basic need to belong and to feel part of a group. When they play with others, they satisfy these needs and develop these social and emotional life skills. When they play with others, especially with kids his age, they are given the opportunity to match their behavior with their playmates'. Through play, they get the opportunity to learn social skills, become sensitive to others, and manage their emotions, learn self-control, and share power.
• Cognitive development. When your kids play, they are also able to develop their ability to acquire knowledge. They improve their ability to focus, develop planning skills and attitudes. Creativity and divergent thinking are also enhanced during play. They learn to take perspectives when they play, and memory and language development are enhanced.