YMCAs message to kids — get up and move
Local branches heavily involved in video program spurred by pandemic
Concerns about kids getting enough exercise are nothing new. If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened those concerns with schools shuttered, sports organizations inactive, and even playground equipment closed.
With parents perplexed, and school boards looking for content to enhance remote learning, a YMCA program featuring a series of fun videos aimed at getting all ages active is proving popular.
“People are responding very well,” said Cathyann White, vice-president of health, fitness, and aquatics for YMCA of Niagara. “More than 100,000 students have accessed the classes from more than 60 school boards across Canada.”
Those students include those at both the District School Board of Niagara and the Niagara Catholic School Board.
The online videos developed to get people moving evolved from YThrive Home series for all ages. As the pandemic deepened, the YMCAs produced a series for kids called YGrow and YGym.
“We launched YGym when it became obvious the schools weren’t going to open any time soon,” said Natalie Stickles, a regional communications specialist with the YMCAs of Niagara and Oakville. “We were able to offer the school boards additional support for their physical education programs.
“YGrow videos target younger children. They proved popular, and that triggered the YGym videos.”
White said the YMCA staff was worried that during the earliest stages of isolation, children were stuck indoors and needed some outlets and exercise, and it is difficult to be creative in the living room. YGym was developed to help families out with this challenge by providing one more reputable resource they could access.
While said YMCA staff at the YMCA of Simcoe Muskoka and the YMCA for South Western Ontario took leading roles in this project. The school boards directed YMCAs to the Ontario Physical Health Education Association Standards to build workouts to support the existing curriculum.
The most popular YGym video is No. 1, which is geared for ages five to nine and has had more than 12,000 views.
“We are very proud of YGym as well as our YMCA at Home content,” White said. “Our local Niagara staff appear in many of the videos online now under the Y Thrive, Y Play, and our EarlyON channels.”
YMCAs are marking National Health and Fitness Day Saturday with the release of some new videos workouts to try after a weeklong buildup that included promoting an Outdoor Bingo Challenge, TikTok Dance Challenge, and Photo Challenge.
“Fitness and overall health require a balance between physical, emotional, and mental well being. It is difficult to achieve overall health with one of these components missing,” White said.