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Posted on: April 26, 2010

Kid & Play

Active families encourage children to get moving in their formative years – and beyond

By Bev Bennett
CTW Features

Parents who don’t engage in physical activities with their young children could be shortchanging their children on more than family fun.

“In the first five or six years of life children learn basic motor skills – running, hopping, skipping and jumping,” says Robert Malina, PhD, professor emeritus at the University of Texas, Austin.

Unfortunately, children who don’t master those movements early are less likely to enjoy and take part in physical activity in years to come.

However, the opposite is true as well.

Children with well-developed motor skills prefer physical, not sedentary pastimes, according to a study of 3- and 4-year olds that appeared in Obesity, the journal of the Obesity Society.

Not only are these children moving with ease, they’re also building a lifelong appreciation for exercise, reducing their risk of chronic disease in the future and enjoying themselves, say physical education experts.

It’s not hard to motivate children if the emphasis is on a pleasurable experience for the entire family, says Kim Bush, assistant professor of health, exercise and sport science at Meredith College, Raleigh, N.C.

Playing outside is especially beneficial.

“Studies show that children who are outdoors are more active and having fun because they’re seeing the environment,” Malina says.

Games, such as tag that parents loved when they were young, can be taught to another generation.

A time shortage shouldn’t eliminate family playtime. Break activities into brief segments: ten minutes of jump rope before dinner and another 10 minutes for catch after the meal.

“If you have a dog that has to be walked, take your child along,” Bush says.

Encourage children to devise their own physical activities.

“Children are more creative than adults for coming out with games. Children who create their own games want to be active. They don’t want to sit around,” Bush says.

Enrolling a child in a team sport may seem like an obvious way to assure the child gets more exercise. But it may have the opposite effect, say experts on physical activity.

Team sports can be competitive, with an emphasis on winning, not having fun, says Malina, author of the textbook “Growth, Maturation, and Physical Activity” (Human Kinetics, 2004).

Children who are pushed into a sport can start to resent it and become burned out, according to Bush, who teaches courses in physical education in elementary schools. In addition, children who aren’t athletic may be forced to the sidelines and not get any exercise.

“Look for games without an exclusionary quality,” Bush says.

Bev Bennett, a veteran food writer and editor, is the author of "Dinner for Two: A Cookbook for Couples" and "30-Minute Meals for Dummies"