RECESS FOR ALL Getting kids to move more doesn’t have to be a chore
When we asked readers recently what they wanted to know about the coronavirus and exercise, many parents responded with variations of the question, “How do I get my kids to move more and stop sitting all day in front of laptops, phones and televisions?”
It’s a legitimate concern.
“A growing body of evidence shows excessive sitting to be linked with various health risks, low self-esteem and decreased academic achievement in school-aged children and youth,” said Taija Juutinen Finni, a professor of health sciences at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland who studies inactivity in young people.
But how do we encourage young people to be more active, without making activity one more draining chore? Exercise scientists and coaches, some of them also parents, had some suggestions.
Samantha Stephens, a pediatric exercise physiologist and research fellow at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
Avoid over-exuberant bouncing, of course, in deference to safety.
Or “set up a disco” in the living room, Juutinen Finni suggested, stringing holiday lights and creating a cross-generation family playlist.
“Dancing together is fun,” she said, and lifts pulses and spirits.
You also could meld academics and aerobics, helping both seem less rote.
“In math, students could do calculations and then get to perform as many jumps as the last answer,” Juutinen Finni said.
Whenever possible, too, get outside, wearing masks and gloves as required, and go analog.
“Use chalk to create a hopscotch course” on a sidewalk, Stephens said. “Blow bubbles and have