This Fit Kid Could Be Yours...................Or Not!

The results of a recently released Canadian study showed that the test participants made a full time job out of sitting still – averaging 44 hours per week. Would it surprise you to know that the participants were all kids?  Obviously not particularly fit or healthy kids.

Dr. Jonathan McGavock, of the Manitoba Institute of Child Health, worked on the 2011 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, released by Active Healthy Kids Canada.
"Children are getting 44 hours a week of sedentary time," McGavock said. "That's a full-time job in front of the TV."
McGavock said this year's results are the most accurate they've ever had, because for the first time, participants wore a type of step counter, instead of just writing down their activities. The machine, worn around the waist for a week, records everything from the intensity to the duration of activity.
McGavock said most of kids' sedentary time happens after school and on weekends, meaning parents need to make more effort to get their kids off the couch.
(from ctv.ca)
When we allow our kids to come home from school and just sit in front of one screen or another we are fostering the habit of a sedentary lifestyle.  If they are like many other kids they have also developed the habit of making unhealthy food choices during this time as well.  So they are on the couch or on their beds, watching a television or computer screen and munching on chips.  Sound familiar?
It's our job as the parents to disallow these habits in our homes if we want fit kids.  Relaxing is all well and good but it could betters be saved for later in the evening.  That time between school and dinner when your kids are perhaps on their own at home, is the prime time for you to insist they find some kind of fitness activity they would be willing to do.  It could be dance or skating or hockey or intramural sports at school.  Or it could be something completely different like swimming, horseback riding, skateboarding, roller blading or joining an indoor climbing club.  Make a deal with the parent of one of their friends who is also lounging around at home and have them do something with that friend.  Just find something so they are working toward that recommended 60 minutes a day that Health Canada says we need.

Tips from ParticipACTION to help keep kids active after school:

• Make activities fun
• Choose an activity that challenges your child, but also helps build their skills, like a sports team or dance class
• Set a maximum two hours of "screen time," whether in front of the TV, computer or even a cellphone
• Set a good example and make sure you're getting enough physical activity too