by Emily Lambert
Keeping children active is a growing necessity. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are nearly twice as many overweight children and almost three times as many overweight adolescents as there were in 1980.
As children grow, their electronic world expands. Stationary activities, such as video games, computers and TV, occupy their attention and the healthy hours that could be spent playing tag, hockey or even practicing yoga. “Keeping children and youth turned on to physical activity is one of the biggest challenges facing parents,” says Dr. George M. Graham, past president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.
Parents might think their children get enough exercise in school during physical education. But this is rarely the case.
Fit Kids: A Practical Guide To Raising Active and Healthy Children — From Birth to Teens (DK Publishing, $20) is written by three MDs from KidsHealth in Wilmington, DE. They report: “Time for physical activity is shrinking in some schools due to budget cutbacks and pressure to increase time spent on academics.” Fit Kids also tells us that by high school, nearly half of all students don’t play on any sports teams and 35 percent skip regular physical activity of any kind.
In Delaware, as in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, physical education programs vary by district and by school. “At the elementary level, roughly 30 minutes per week is the bare minimum. However, some students receive 30 minutes on a daily basis,” says John Ray, a physical education specialist for the Delaware Department of Education.
Schools: Voluntary Programs
Beyond physical education classes, some schools have taken the bull by the horns and instituted their own activity programs. Fort Washington Elementary School in Fort Washington, PA, for example, started “Big Strides for Little Feet” this school year and already boasts a student participation rate of 90 percent (excluding kindergarten).
Every Tuesday and Thursday, during their lunch recess, students run, or walk, the perimeter of the school’s soccer field. For every mile kids complete, they receive a foot charm, now considered an in-school fashion statement. “The bottom line is, it’s planting a seed to think about exercising,” says Dan Green, the health and physical education teacher who initiated the program along with parent Bonnie Gillen. “The ultimate goal is to make fitness a lifelong pursuit and hopefully they’ll take this to the next level.”
Carol Lynch, a physical education teacher at Fleetwood Elementary School in Mount Laurel, NJ, runs a similar program, now in its fifth year. As of last December, students had logged 4,491 miles during their recess runners’ program. The voluntary program claims a 95 percent participation rate. “The more active the kids are, the better they learn and the happier they are,” says Lynch.
Experts recommend kids get 30-60 minutes of exercise a day. Is that what your child is getting? Probably not. Dr. Graham suggests parents and schools explore a number of physical activities to find out what children like and then encourage them to get involved regularly. Focus on your child’s interests, temperament and abilities to pick an activity with staying power.
Starting Young
The Delaware Valley has after-school and weekend options aplenty, with benefits far beyond the physical, and for children of virtually any age. In fact, at Gymboree Play & Music, a 26-year-old parent-child participatory program, the starting age is “newborn.” Play classes, Gymboree’s term for movement classes, are designed to work the body and mind together, says Lori Schomp, owner-operator of three Gymboree franchise locations in Southern New Jersey.
For instance, in the GymRunners’ class for 14- to 28-month-olds, children not only run, they run up and run down, run in and run out, run over and run under. In the GymExplorers’ class for 2-year-olds, imagination becomes important and activities such as “ice skating” (picture waxed paper plate “skates” and a gigantic mat “ice rink”) are a hit. “We’re teaching the body how to be lifelong-coordinated and to enjoy the activity,” says Schomp.
Beginning at the age of 4 months and up to age 12, children can join The Little Gym, a franchise with multiple Delaware Valley locations. These centers’ core program is gymnastics to promote motor skills development, but they also offer sports, karate and dance. “The basis of the program is running, jumping, galloping and skipping, activities that use both sides of the body,” says Amy Hansell, owner of the Wilmington, DE Little Gym. Even the tiniest tots balance on the beam and hang from the bars. But the skills change as they advance.
“We start out with monkey jumps that eventually lead into cartwheels,” Hansell explains. Themed weeks, such as beach party (kids wear bathing suits) or pajama party (they wear PJs), plus music and imagination, add to the fun. “Children are interacting, gaining confidence and being prepared for things they might be doing in the future, all in a very positive and very encouraging environment,” she says.
Yoga: Moving Mindfully
Jill Comins teaches yoga for children (starting at age 6) and teens at Twisters Yoga in Erdenheim, PA. She combines creative movement with traditional yoga poses. “I use a story or a theme,” she says. “We might be in a circus doing poses on a tightrope, or different animals practicing our walks. I want the kids to try different things with their bodies and be comfortable with them. A lot of other things can grow out of that.”
“Yoga differs from other forms of movement because of the strong mental-physical connection,” notes owner Tricia Fleming. Breathing is one of the primary skills used to connect the body with the mind. “Learning how to focus on the air coming in and out of your body is a stress-relieving tool that kids can use in other areas of their lives, such as pressure at school,” says Fleming.
The Angler Movement Arts Center in Philadelphia teaches yoga, ballet, modern dance and creative movement. Each class offers a supportive and nurturing environment. “I give the kids a lot of space to incorporate their own ideas,” says director Katharine Livingston. During yoga improvisations, for example, children might be asked to strike a happy pose, mad pose or do their version of the “weird” dance. When children have a safe place for self-expression, it helps them to relieve stress and express emotion, says Livingston.
Karate: Self-Discipline
Tiger Schulman’s Karate, with several Delaware Valley locations, offers karate, kickboxing and submission grappling (similar to wrestling) for children starting as young as age 3. Dedicated members come two to three times a week and invest 21/2 to 31/2 years, sometimes more, trying to achieve a black belt. Acquiring a black belt at Tiger Schulman’s also requires a minimum of a B average at school.
In addition to self-defense, children learn how to be self-disciplined in their lives and thus develop confidence. “Whenever they feel good on the inside, it shows on the outside,” says Amanda Miller, manager of the Tiger Schulman’s Willow Grove, PA location.
For other after-school exercise resources, primarily for tweens, log on to www.VERBparents.com. This CDC website helps parents assist children in locating activities. So, as they say, pick a verb and get moving!
Emily Lambert is a local freelance writer.