Canadian Kids Get An F In Activity
My grade three son only has gym class two days out of eight. I thought that he had Daily Physical Activity every day to make up for the activity deficit, but when I asked him about it he had no idea what I was talking about. It's not that I think standing behind a chair stretching and doing some jumping jacks will increase his physical health, but it sends a message that sitting too long is not good for you.
DPA is supposed to be part of kids' daily activities at school, but it looks like the schools are failing to do it.
It's not just the fault of schools, kids are not active enough and their rate of activity is declining.
The Active Healthy Kids Canada released a report card this week which gave Canadian kids an F in physical activity. A study says that 62% of kids' awake time is spent sitting. That includes school and the six hours of screen time a day that kids on average are doing.
A rousing 46 per cent of kids get three hours or less of physical activity per week, only 14 per cent play outside after school. Gone are the days of the neighbourhood hide and seek games, the group bike rides and hours spent skipping.
Part of the reason that kids don't play outside as much is our own fear. We rely on structured activities and leagues to give our kids a workout. The ParticipACTION (remember them?) website says: Think one hour of swimming lessons is enough? Think again.
I know that I am not the only parent who allows too much screentime and too much sitting around. My 12-year-old, who is not very athletically-inclined, definitely sits around too much. Sometimes motivating the kids to move takes more energy that I have.
But that's no excuse. In the video, Kelly Murumets from PartipACTION recommends kids doing more chores to get moving. Now that's an idea I can run with!
Do you worry that your kids aren't active enough? What do you do to get them moving?
Want more chaos? Last year, I asked if teens deserved privacy? I stand by my answer, despite the comments.
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