A physically active lifestyle is a key to a healthy life at any age, and it’s important to start building the healthy habit of exercising daily and enjoying movement when your child is young. Physical activity has many benefits, like improving focus, keeping the body healthy, and increasing the overall sense of well-being and confidence one has in themselves.
Physical activity needs depend on the age of your child. Under the age of 3, there are no specific guidelines. Under 3, it’s likely that your toddler will try and move throughout the day.
However, playing movement-based games with them and taking them to explore new environments are ways to keep them engaged with exploring the world through movement. Children ages 3-5 should be moving throughout the day, while children ages 6 and up should get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise every day.
You may find that it’s easier to keep younger children moving and engaged in physical activity and harder to keep older children motivated to exercise, especially as they start to develop a wide range of interests.
Here are some suggestions for how to engage your child in physical activity:
Be safe and practice age-appropriate activities with your child when encouraging them to pursue an active lifestyle.
It can be difficult for school-aged children to get enough physical activity per day, particularly as they get older and start to participate in more activities outside of school. An extracurricular like a team sport or daily runs in the morning are both great ways to incorporate daily activity into your busy child’s life.
Consider incorporating a friend into the activity as well. Your child may go on runs with their best friend before school or take walks around the mall with their friends for a few hours every weekend.
Signs of moderate-intensity physical activity include a slightly elevated heart rate and slightly heavier breathing. Some examples of moderate-intensity physical activity include a fast walk, gentle bicycling or swimming, playground activities, and physical education class.
Signs of vigorous-intensity physical activity include a marked increase in heart rate and much heavier breathing than normal. Some examples of vigorous-intensity physical activity for children include running, jumping rope, gymnastics, dance, and swimming.
Every child needs physical activity, including children with disabilities. Talk to your doctor and enlist their help building a fun and appropriate physical activity routine.
A balanced diet is vital to keeping young, active children healthy. Healthy foods reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cavities(caries), cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, and high blood pressure. When a child eats a balanced diet and exercises regularly, quality of life, health, and life expectancy all increase.
Any child over the age of 2 should be eating a combination of healthy fruits and vegetables, whole grains, oils, a variety of protein-rich foods, and low-fat products. Healthy eating is associated with better performance in school. It also helps keep a child feeling strong and able to perform the recommended amount of physical activity each day.