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Scampering up and down a slide, as these Hugh Mercer Elementary School students did, is a fun way for children to get exercise. |
By KRISTIN DAVIS
Breezy, 80-degree air and unblemished blue skies lured folks outdoors last weekend.
Kids roller-skated and pushed scooters and pedaled bicycles through neighborhoods. Young teenagers shot basketball hoops in driveways and pitched baseballs across their yards.
Families descended on parks, where toddlers stomped across mulch and pre-schoolers climbed ladders, soared on swings and zipped down slides.
They weren't thinking about fitness.
They were just having fun.
But health experts say kids who get about an hour of activity each day are building a solid foundation for a healthy, active lifestyle later on.
That applies even to toddlers.
The fun, carefree exercise Fredericksburg-area children engaged in last weekend is just what they need.
One in five children in the U.S. is overweight, reports the National Institutes of Health.
"It's a total combination of factors," says Joseph Skelton, a medical doctor who specializes in childhood obesity at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
Children are more sedentary than in years past. They've got TV, computers and PlayStations.
"Boys are eating about 200 calories more a day than 20 years ago," Skelton said. "For girls it's 360."
The food is also less healthy.
The danger is that obese children will grow up to be obese adults with serious health problems.
Simple, childhood games like hopscotch, jump rope and backyard Limbo now can make all the difference later, reports the Nemours Foundation, one of the nation's leading children's health systems.
Turn chores into games. Take a walk after dinner. Head to a bike trail one Saturday. Follow the lead of these two families.
'The kids lead the way'Keri Raich knows all about a toddler's creativity. She watches it unfold every day at the Stafford County YMCA.
She's the nursery manager there--and the mother of two boys, ages 4 and 6. Bring out some mats, balls, chairs or hula-hoops and the kids will stay active and amused for hours.
The children build obstacle courses. They arrange all the chairs in a straight line and suddenly it's a train headed for Disney World. One child pretends to be a dinosaur and chases the others.
"The kids lead the way," Raich said.
The children will pull out the mats and nursery staff will arrange them into a hopscotch pattern, and teach them all about the game. Fitness can begin early.
"It's never too early to start," said Skelton.
Activity, the childhood obesity expert says, is just as important as a healthy diet. For that reason, he said, children shouldn't be exposed to television before age 2. After that, time in front of the screen--computer and video games included--should be limited to two hours a day.
Raich can see a difference in her children, Collin and Connor, on rainy days when they don't get much activity.
But when they do, "they're happy, energetic," Raich said.
At the YMCA, the littlest ones thrive on exercise and the "creativity of the staff."
When the children's mothers headed to a workout class called Boot Camp, nursery staff held their own modified version for the kids. They called it Baby Boot Camp.
The children loved imitating their parents.
Getting out of the houseOn a recent weekend, Julie and Paul Weber's children, who range in age from 4 to 10, spread mulch and planted flowers.
Nicholas, Leslie, Margo and Gretchen have a garden spot in the family's yard in Queen's Mill, a subdivision in Spotsylvania County. Each child picks out his or her own kind of flower, and gardening becomes a fun, group endeavor.
It also gets everyone off the couch and out of the house.
Julie Weber, who played sports growing up and still runs several miles a day, recognizes the importance of exercise.
"We're always looking for ways to say that's going to be a healthy-heart activity," she said. "Fitness can look different for kids, and it does look different for kids."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that regular exercise--even the fun kind--helps build muscles and healthy bones in kids. Active children also are less likely to suffer from diabetes and heart disease as adults.
The Webers don't take elevators. They park at the back of parking lots even if there's a space closer up. They head outside after dinner to stroll through the neighborhood or ride bikes. On weekends, the family goes for a hike at Lake Anna or heads for a playground.
"I think [fitness] starts in the home," Julie Weber said. "We encourage them to play instead of sit in the shade. We'll say, 'Let's jump rope. How can we make this a healthier thing? What can we do to make this good exercise?' They get excited."
At the Weber house, kickball is a favorite pastime.
They play in a nearby cu-de-sac, with chalk-drawn bases. Julie and Paul join the game, and so do other neighborhood children.
Sundays are family day at the Webers'. Television isn't an option.
After spending the morning in church last Sunday, the Webers once again headed outside to enjoy warm, breezy weather. The kids played kickball and tag and then hunted Easter eggs.
The kids don't enjoy sports as much as their mom did growing up. But Julie Weber says that's OK. They keep busy anyway.
"We're trying to teach them the way life was when we were younger," she said. "You have to make your own fun."
Despite widespread efforts of educators, doctors, dietitians and others, even more children were considered obese last year than in previous years, Skelton said.
"I don't think it's quite planed off yet," he said. Before that happens "we need to make some real tough societal changes."
To reach KRISTIN DAVIS:
Email: kdavis@freelancestar.com
