Boost children's fitness

ELIZABETH NIDER

Do you remember the days when your mother had to call you three times to come in for dinner? Generally, the lifestyle of children nowadays looks much different. All too often you'll find a child needing to be called three times for dinner because they are watching television or playing video games. Is there any way to reverse the aversion kids seem to have towards physical activity?

Children thrive from playing, and active playing is the key to help kids enjoy physical activity. Imagine someone telling you that washing your car is a boring and awful chore that simply must be done. Now imagine someone putting on your favorite CD and inviting your two best friends to wash your car with you. Which sounds more appealing? Kids work the same way: if being active is treated as a laborious task, they will naturally be more resistant to it. So try thinking of creative ways to be active. Get a small rake, shovel or push-mower for kids of any age to feel like they fit in by helping with outdoor activities. Go back to the basics and use chalk to play hopscotch outside, play freeze tag or hide and seek if you're stuck with a rainy day. These games have withstood the test of time because they are entertaining, inexpensive and easy to play.

Children today have more pressure in all aspects of life than their parents or grandparents had at their age. If parents add to their pressure by threatening that if they don't exercise they will become overweight or unhealthy, then any negative feelings children may have towards fitness will be reinforced. The less of a deal parents make about it, the more open a child will be and, if parents practise what they preach, kids are more likely to care about being active.

Because kids spend more time in school than anywhere else, consider the level of physical activity at your child's school. According to Rabbi Don Pacht, principal of Vancouver Hebrew Academy (VHA), his elementary school has two 45-minute blocks of physical education (PE) per week. In addition, Judy Cox, the PE teacher, spends recesses outdoors organizing sports and active games with the students. VHA also has a running club every Wednesday early morning, where parents, students and teachers meet for a social and fun workout. For each lap, participants are rewarded one popsicle stick and, at the end of the year, the three with the most sticks receive a prize, while the other participants receive a ribbon and certificate.

Associating Jewish events with being active is a useful tool in helping kids feel positively towards exercise. Principal of Richmond Jewish Day School (RJDS) Rebecca Coen explained that, on Jewish holidays, the school focuses on active fun. On Lag b'Omer, the kids go to the beach or park and have a day of activities. For this year's Yom Yerushalayim, the kids participated in a Bootcamp class. "It is really about getting kids active to stimulate them physically and mentally," said Coen.

The B.C. Ministry of Education suggests that elementary schools provide 30 minutes of daily exercise. According to Pacht, "the problem is that 30 minutes of physical activity per day is like an orphaned child" because it's very difficult to fit 30 minutes into the daily class routine. What most teachers at VHA do is break it up into a few minutes here and there, throughout the class. To facilitate this plan, Action Schools! B.C. has been giving workshops, materials (scarves, bean bags, jump ropes, etc.) and ideas about how to creatively squeeze in extra physical activity throughout the school day.

Sedentary activities are still an enjoyable way to occasionally spend family time. We need to know when to relax and that TV is fine as a "once in a while" type of activity. Make a list with the kids of the top five active games that can be played when boredom hits this summer or brainstorm some new ideas that can be brought to school for September, which can improve the levels of fitness each day. By making gradual changes, families can start living healthier lives enriched by being active.

Elizabeth Nider is a freelance writer living in Richmond.

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