Encourage Your Child To Be Active This Summer
Summertime = fun! School is out, and children tend to have more flexibility in how they spend the day. The weather is usually more conducive to spending time outside, and for children this can translate into hours of active free play. However, summertime should NOT translate into multiple hours each day spent on video games…this is a prime time to get kids and teens active and healthy.
Physical activity is beneficial for children and teens in multiple ways: it improves motor skills and coordination, builds up healthy bones, reduces excess weight accumulation, increases strength, and improves emotional health.
Daily activity recommendations
It is recommended that all children over the age of 6 years participate in moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes per day. “Vigorous activity” is anything that raises the heart rate and effort it takes to breathe, and usually produces sweating. For children, this can include activities such as riding a bicycle, playing on a playground, or jumping rope – it does NOT have to be activities thought typically to be “exercise” such as running on a treadmill or around a track. Exercise can and should be fun for kids.
The recommended 60 minutes per day does not need to be done all at once, but can be broken up into smaller portions throughout the day. It can also be a combination of different types of activities that work on different aspects of health. These include aerobic activities, muscle-strengthening activities, and bone-strengthening activities. If possible, participating in a combination of these types throughout the week is best.
Ideas for active lifestyles
Being active doesn’t look the same for every person. It is important of find what types of activities your child or teen enjoy, as there is a higher chance of he or she continuing in these activities if they are having fun. Even better – find something the whole family can agree to do together and use it to spend time together in active, healthy living. This has the added benefit of setting a good example, and avoids the issue of “do what I say not as I do,” which kids of all ages notice very quickly.
Aerobic activities
Aerobic exercise includes any type of activity that improves cardiovascular conditioning (heart and lung health) by increasing heart rate and work of breathing. It is commonly called “cardio” but it can take many forms. During aerobic activities, the large muscle groups in the arms, legs, and hips move repeatedly, which requires extra oxygen. The word “aerobic” literally means “with oxygen.”
Aerobic activities can be moderate:
- Quickly walking
- Dancing
- Hiking
- Skateboarding or rollerblading
- Bicycle riding
- Martial arts
Aerobic activities can be vigorous:
- Running
- Basketball
- Hockey
- Jumping rope
- Soccer
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Bicycle riding or mountain biking
- Playing tag
Bone-strengthening activities
Bones are strengthened through weight or pressure applied to them. This usually occurs with strong contact or impact with the ground, and these activities often overlap with aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.
Bone-strengthening activities include:
- Hopscotch
- Jump rope
- Basketball
- Running
- Tennis
- Gymnastics and cheerleading
- Volleyball
- Resistance bands
- Dancing
Muscle-strengthening activities
Muscles are strengthened through resistance work. Resistance training improves muscle strength by making the muscle work against a force. This can be through use of weights, resistance bands, and body weight. When resistance training is used consistently, the muscles become stronger and tendon and ligaments become more stable.
Muscle-strengthening activities include:
- Playing Tug-of-War
- Swinging on playground equipment
- Push ups, sit ups, chin ups, pull ups, and squats
- Free weights (dumbells, barbells, kettlebells)
- Weight machines
- Resistance bands
It is important that muscle-strengthening activities be age-appropriate. It is not safe for young children to play with free weights or on weight machines, and they can easily strengthen muscles through active play that is more fun for them anyway.
Final thoughts
To some people, “exercise” is a bad word. But it doesn’t have to be! Children to who learn to be active become older individuals who enjoy staying active. Many life-long good habits begin in childhood, so this is the perfect time to start your child on the right path to a healthy attitude in regards to physical activity. The good news is that there are many different ways to be active that are also a lot of fun, especially for children. This summer, make it a goal to find something your child loves to do – even if it is playing on the local playground – and then…get outside and get active!
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