Kids Should Be Moving

I have to say as I sit here to write about something that I am so passionate about…I do not even know where to begin. There are so many angles to this topic, I do not want to miss anything. But, why are so many kids not moving enough? Why are schools having less and less recess and free play? Why does health and fitness get lost in the world of children and education? Why are kids playing more electronics than playing outside? Why are kids playing outside with electronics?!? How can anyone pretend that health and fitness and recess and free play are not so important with kids? I just do not think you can. It seems that many institutions just ignore the importance, and shift the focus to their more important priorities and emphasize how there is just not time left for these kids to be healthy. No time to teach the importance of health and fitness, or to help these children be more successful… because physical activity will help them be more successful. I do not even think I need to state the obvious, do I? Physical activity is good for your health. I know. Good stuff, right? Even better, kids need to burn energy, so they will sleep well, right? This is what I hear a lot from parents. Yes, good stuff too, but there is just so much more.

To start with, we all need good healthy habits. Everything in moderation. Balance your money. Balance your time. Balance your relationships. How to fit it all in? The sooner kids start learning about healthy habits, the better off they are. They learn from us. We have to teach them how to make good choices. I use the 80/20 rule, and I apply this to my kids as well. 80% of the time we eat healthy and are active. There is a 20% of the time when we are at parties, visiting their grandma, enjoying a treat after a baseball game  or just plain celebrating something special where, yes, we enjoy treats. We call them treats and my kids know that they are special. There is moderation in being active as well. Yes, we have days on the weekend where my kids could play outside for hours. We also have days where we barely get 20 minutes outside. Physical activity is fun in our house. Playing outside is fun. We do our best to be involved in sports and activities that the kids enjoy. We also swim in the summer, take bike rides regularly, do planks as a family, stretch and play soccer at the beach. We just try to be active as much as we can, but we also will sit on the beach and just play in the sand. We will sit on the couch for the afternoon and enjoy football. Play board games some nights instead of a bike ride. It is all balance, but we talk to our kids about the importance of being active. It is good for our bodies. Our muscles want to be used and want to be stronger. It makes our heart stronger to run around and ride our bikes. Just make it a part of your life, not a chore, and not an obsession, but a part of your life.

There is also a confidence boost and an improvement in mood with physical activity. We know this as adults, but yes, in kids as well. Being active makes you feel good. When your body does not get to move around, it gets sad, which makes you not feel so good. Your muscles need to move, your blood needs to flow through the body, your heart wants to pump harder to be stronger, and your brain is craving this activity. Consistently being active makes you feel good, and feel better about yourself.

Being physically active can also help kids become more comfortable in group sport and fitness activities. The more kids get to be involved in group fitness activities, the more comfortable they can become. Free play helps with this. Free play is letting kids run around and find and create their own games and activities. This can be very difficult for kids that never get to just run around. Free play is great fun for kids where they get to explore, be creative and have to work out a game with their friends. Yes, sometimes they might need guidance, but overall it is good for them to just run around FREE! 🙂

With the decrease any physical fitness and recess in schools, and the increase in stress and work, many studies are focusing on how exercise improves brain power and focus. This is a good article on how exercise boosts brain power. I just love this stuff.

Now there are also studies coming out recently concentrating on the benefits of physical activity helping ADHD…more good stuff. Read for yourself.

With all the research out there, and the obvious benefits of activity, why oh why is physical activity and recess becoming less and less in school. Why has it become so hard to fit in activity with all the homework kids have to do at night? Kids barely have time to play outside after school. It blows my mind. Stand up to your school. Let your voice be heard. Kids need to be active to feel good, to be healthy, for their brains to work better and to help focus in class. Do not hesitate to speak up. I know it is tough. I fought for these things. I watched my kid lose recess over and over for choices that other students made. This made me crazy. For the love of all that is healthy and good, these kids should be able to expend energy and have free play every single day.

For many reasons, we have chosen to homeschool our kids, and having time for fitness and free play is one of the many, many benefits. You should not have to homeschool in order for your kids to learn about health and fitness and have recess every day. If you are at a school that gives recess every single day, and promotes and teaches health and physical activity, please share your story. I would LOVE to hear.

Enjoy today and give your kids time to play outside,
Kelley