Get outside and get healthy
Summertime is finally here and the warmer weather provides the perfect opportunity to get outside and get healthy. Establishing routine habits in young children ages 0-5 can set patterns for a lifetime of keen brain and body enrichment and help them discover activities that may become long term interests.
Not only is recreation fun, it is vitally important for children of all ages as well as adults. The recommended daily physical activity time for a child is 60 minutes. And yet, for the last four years, Canadians have scored a Don the Participaction report card. So how can you, as a caregiver, help your young child become more physically active and what are the benefits?
Lethbridge is fortunate to be filled with over 50 wonderfully well-equipped parks, playgrounds and green spaces. Many neighbourhoods also have paved paths and trails. Learning to appreciate these amenities starts in early childhood with simple activities like walking the dog, riding bikes and exploring in nature. Additionally, summertime offers wonderful outdoor pools for families with young children.
Benefits of increased physical activity include:
• Development of gross and fine motor skills
• Opportunities to socialize with other children
• Improved sleep
• Healthy hearts, lungs and arteries
• Improved coordination, balance, posture and flexibility
• Reduced risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer later in life • Releasing of excess energy • Balancing of blood sugars, stabilizing mood
Play of any type provides the opportunity to use creativity and imagination and is important to healthy brain development. For children in their early years of development (ages 0-5), it is also the primary means of engagement with the world around them. When this play takes place outdoors, studies have shown some amazing benefits to overall health, including:
• Getting sick less often. Mud, sand, water, leaves, sticks and pinecones can actually stimulate the immune system
• Lower incidence of anxiety, depression, behavioural disorders and a better sense of self-worth
• Increased confidence with other children and reduced bullying
• Reduction in symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder
• Learning healthy parameters around outdoor risks.
Some caregivers acknowledge apprehension about the risks of outdoor play, fearing falls, bee stings, cuts and scrapes. However, choosing activities together with children such as hiking and scavenger hunts provides teaching and learning opportunities about how to manoeuvre outside in a safe but still exploratory way. Research has shown that the rich, sensory environment of the outdoors develops positive and caring attitudes to the wider world we live in, setting children up for a lifetime of coping and calming strategies through time with mother nature.
Go get active! Even a few minutes of sunshine causes positive chemical changes in mood. Take the time this summer to enjoy a backyard run through the sprinkler or a trip to your nearest park or greenspace and watch your child’s health and happiness grow.
For more information about Lethbridge Early Years visit