Back to School: Increase Daily Movement for kids and parents
BY ELENA ROSSEEL
February is now in full swing and that means kids are back at school. As well as most adults being back to their normal routine of life and work. After 6 weeks of summer holidays which involved beach trips and playing outside, our kids are now sitting down for many hours of their day. It’s important to help them move outside of the school hours. This is not just important for kids, but adults too. Many adults sit down to work 7-8 hours a day.
Research published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health shows that children who regularly participate in movement activities are 30% better at controlling their behavior (Thompson et al., 2022). Another study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health discovered that even short 4-minute movement breaks can improve focus by 20% (Ma et al., 2014).
If we don’t add movement during our school or work day, we most likely won’t meet the moving guidelines.
The recommendations for adults are that they should be active most days, preferably every day. Each week, adults should do either 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate intensity physical activity or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous activities.
Children and young people (5-17 years) should aim for at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day, involving mainly aerobic activities.
Preschoolers between 2-4 years old should spend at least 180 minutes in a variety of physical activities, of which at least 60 minutes is energetic play, spread throughout the day; more is better.
Unfortunately, evidence shows that Australian children are not getting enough physical activity. Only 23% of children 5 to 14 years are meeting the 60 minutes of activity per day. While 72% of children aged 2 to 4 years are achieving 180 minutes of activity per day.
Let’s aim this year to get ourselves and kids to move more and meet those guidelines.
Here are ten simple ideas to add more movement into the day:
Have a dance party while cooking dinner and get the whole family involved.
Opt for active toys when buying birthday presents.
Get the kids involved in household chores.
Stop by a playground on the way home from school or kick a ball in the backyard or your local park.
Make family time active by going for a hike, bike ride, play on the beach or swim in the ocean.
Use active transport by walking or riding your bike/scooter to school or work.
Use public transport when going out on the weekend or park the car further away and walk the last 1km.
Enrol your child in an organised sport or an activity that they enjoy. Join a gym or exercise class.
Join your kids in playing simple games like hide and seek or tag.
Find a yoga/stretch class online and do it all together in the lounge room.
The benefits of living an active lifestyle are endless. Try to implement some little changes in adding more movement to your family’s day and make it fun.
Yours in Health,
Elena and The Family Chiro Team
