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Keeping Children Active

Published: 26 Nov 2021 Tagged: activechildrenfitnesshealthhigh schoolerspre-schoolerspreschoolerpreschoolersprimary schoolerssecondary schoolersSpeakablesports
Keeping Children Active

COVID-19 pandemics is a global phenomenon which has affected people in uncountable manners, especially regarding socialisation, learning and working processes, and collateral health consequences. One significant impact regards to mental health, increasing anxiety, depression and other aspects of people’s mental health continuum. Another impact is related to physical health: many people just couldn’t leave home to keep the physical activities they were used to, and it includes children.

While we see more and freedom to move around and have socialisation back, it’s very important that parents and schools return children to physical activities in order to fight off the sedentarism from their pandemics-related routine. Besides returning children to their regular activities of socialisation, practising sports and other physical activities provide benefits such as:

  • better sleep
  • decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes
  • healthy weight
  • strong muscles and bones
  • a better outlook on life

For children between two and five years old, physical activities should be focused on refining basic motor skills and begin learning the rules of activities – nothing too complex would keep their attention or make them feel properly engaged. In this age range, it’s a little difficult for a child act in competitive activities and as a team, so parents and teachers must take this in consideration when planning the physical activities. Recommendations for activities within this age range include:

  • Climbing on playground equipment
  • Hopping, skipping and jumping
  • Kicking, throwing and catching
  • Playing tag or follow the leader
  • Riding a tricycle or bicycle
  • Running
  • Swimming
  • Tumbling

Between six and nine years old, children already have some improvement of their focus, senses and motor skills, so there are some more opportunities to increase the complexity of activities with more rules and instructions. However, some children simply aren’t interested in competing, so it is important that the activities emphasise health, teamwork and fun. Recommended activities are:

  • Baseball, cricket, softball or T-ball
  • Dancing
  • Gymnastics
  • Hiking
  • Jumping rope
  • Martial arts
  • Rollerblading or ice skating
  • Running
  • Skiing
  • Soccer
  • Swimming
  • Tennis

From about ten years old on, the recommended activities are the same ones as above, but now considering other factors involving the life of the child, such as biological and social changes from puberty, school routines and so on. More complexity in activities can be considered, such as in basketball, football, hockey, netball, rugby, skateboarding, volleyball, yoga and others.

In every age range, pay attention to factors such as:

  • Lacking motor skills: Be it due to developmental reasons or lack of support in early years, the child might be “clumsy” when compared to the expected to their age. A physical education teacher and parents must keep an eye on that in order to notice if it’s necessary to have the child assessed for occupational therapy.
  • Uninterested in competition: Some children simply don’t like the pressure to win over others, individually or as a team. Non-competitive activities should be designed, as well as keeping the child practising in an environment with low level of competitiveness.
  • Social anxiety: The child might feel to pressured by the school’s team or parents to be a winner a high achiever. He or she might also be feeling “weird” throughout puberty by comparing his or her body to friends from the same age. When a child is not within an “average”, such as being too tall, too small, overweight or with any other physical trait which draws attention, it affects their self-esteem and reflects in physical activities. Constant and positive support from teachers and parents are extremely import in such cases.

Speakable supports a healthy life for children of all ages and can provide supporting services with allied health professionals to help with any need a child might have. Contact us to know more how we can help you!

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