Physical Fitness Month

Articles

May 1

Every year in May, we celebrate and aim to support National Physical Fitness and Sports month. This year, the focus of the celebration is #MoveInMay. The campaign aims to promote safety while engaging in physical activity and this year, that means social distancing. Following the latest information from your region’s public health providers and local leaders will help you learn how to engage in physical activity outdoors in the safest way possible. If you are unable to safely exercise outdoors with your family, there are many ways of getting active indoors.

Benefits of Physical Activity

Moving your body has innumerable benefits for your overall health. For many of us, children included, the previous year was full of stress and uncertainty. Engaging in physical activity during times of stress can ultimately provide stress reduction by stabilizing your mood and increasing positive thoughts. Exercise can have a great impact on your restfulness as well. Sleep is typically improved when an individual engages in physical activity during the day. For kids, exercise and movement is crucial for preventing disease later in life. Increasing daily physical activity helps you effectively reduce your risk of health problems such as diabetes, depression, cancer, obesity, or heart disease. Those with different abilities are no different in terms of their need for physical activity. There are so many ways children can stay active and create the positive habit of exercise early on in life.

Ways to Help Your Child Stay Active

Children naturally want to move and be physically active. In today’s world, alternative activities such as watching TV or playing on a device can be alluring to children and consume too much of their time. This time in front of a screen is typically sedentary, meaning they are not engaging in much body movement and are sitting down. Setting aside time for screens can be one way to mitigate the impact and encourage kids to be active in different ways. The increasing demand of schoolwork can also overtake a child’s focus and limit their time for physical activity. It is your role as a parent or caregiver to assist them in finding more time to be active.

Promote Positivity

For kids of all ages, physical activity should focus on fun. Play is so important for a child’s development. Encouraging children to play and creating positive reinforcement surrounding physical activity can help them be more motivated to engage. While a child may not know what kind of activities or sports they enjoy at first, it is important to encourage them to try anything that they feel interested in attempting. Help young children understand that sports are games to practice and learn rather than approach in a competitive or regimented way.

Provide Activities and Toys

Some children are skilled in developing their own games or physical activities while others may need direction to learn how to engage. Show children different activities they can learn to help them be more active in their play, such as creating a hopscotch path or obstacle course. If they are provided with toys like jump ropes, soccer balls, bicycles, or a balance board, they are more likely to increase their physical activity levels during playtime.

Establish Boundaries

Particularly during the last year, parents may have faced difficulties working from home and establishing boundaries related to screen time for their children. It is no surprise that children love to play video games and watch videos on the computer and at times, even adults struggle to mitigate screen time in their day. If you establish limits on screen time by keeping the TV or computer turned off during the day, you can start to create healthy habits at home.

Engage in Activity Together

Kids are likely to get more involved in active play if they are playing with another person. Take time to play together and engage in something new. Your child will benefit immensely from learning a new sport, taking a hike in nature, or a fun bike ride through the neighborhood. Your example of positivity surrounding physical activity will go a long way toward establishing a healthy routine for your child.

Feeling Accomplished

Setting goals and learning new skills creates a positive association with the activity and can inspire confidence. If your child is interested in a sport, encourage them to practice without putting excessive pressure on their progress. When they begin to see their own progress and confidence build in a particular area, they will feel accomplished and are more likely to continue. On the contrary, if a child feels discouraged about their progress or expresses frustration with their abilities, parents can assess the situation and either continue to encourage perseverance or seek the assistance of a therapist if additional skill development is necessary.

Children are recommended to engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. However, not all children are alike and it might be more difficult for some children to achieve. As kids get older, the amount of physical activity they engage in each day typically decreases. Parents can help their children focus on the positivity surrounding physical activity and fitness to help them lead healthy lives long-term. Since physical activity has a positive impact on attention span, sleep, mood, and overall behavior, it is important to establish these practices early on in life.

The Role of Physical Therapy

Physical therapists can address problems with developmental activity in young children. Early intervention when a child is learning how to crawl or walk can enable them to be more independent later in life. In addition to developmental activity, physical therapists can work with children to help with their vestibular development through balance and coordination. The development of these skills can help them be more confident engaging in sports and group recreation as they age.

Looking to work with a physical therapist? Tilton’s Therapy offers expert physical therapy services throughout the regions of Southern Nevada, Northern Nevada, Oregon, and Hawaii. Contact our team to learn more about how we can assist your family.