Fit Kids :: Children and Parenting :: Health and Environmental Concerns

> Children and Parenting > Health and Environmental Concerns

Fit Kids
by author Joseph Rossi

A healthy child becomes a healthy adult. As parents we must steer our children away from the dangers of inactivity and keep them fit by leading them into a more active lifestyle.

According to the American Heart Association, children are less fit than they were a generation ago. Physical inactivity in children leads to excess weight, higher blood cholesterol, and lower levels of heart protective high-density lipoproteins (HDL cholesterol). Heart attacks and strokes are rare in children, but evidence shows that the process leading to those conditions begins in childhood.

All children aged two and older should participate in at least 30 minutes of enjoyable, moderate-intensity activities every day. They should also perform at least 30 minutes of vigorous physical activities at least three to four days each week to achieve and maintain a good level of cardio-respiratory (heart and lung) fitness.

Bad Posture?

Dr. Joseph Mercola, author of the Total Health Program (Optimal Wellness Center, 2003), partially blames TV on children’s physical inactivity is too much TV. The average child watches over three hours of TV each day, after sitting for nearly six hours in school. Sedentary children can suffer from postural problems. Improper posture is the result of muscle imbalances: After sitting for long periods of time throughout the day, certain muscles are prone to tightness while other muscles are susceptible to becoming inhibited or inactive. This leads to a decreased range of motion and causes further performance problems throughout development.

Get to the Core

Your child should start with a basic core stabilization program. The majority of children lack core strength and therefore suffer from poor posture. The core contains the muscles of the abdominals, lower and middle back, cervical area of the spine, the pelvic girdle, and hip joint. Proper core strength can control the child’s constantly changing centre of gravity, eventually leading to a stronger and a more stable child.

Exercises such as Prone Iso Abs, Floor Prone Cobras, and Floor Two-Legged Bridges are a few exercises that will help your child with posture and core strength.

Fitness Starts at Home

It’s up to the adults to bring fitness and healthy habits into the home and lead by example. Physical activities promote psychological and social benefits, too, including improved psychological well-being, self-confidence, and self-esteem.

Doing physical activities together as a family is a great start to a fun and healthy active lifestyle. From walks after dinner to daily bike rides, there are many simple activities that parents can participate in with their children. Jumping rope and playing tag can benefit kids’ cardio-respiratory systems. These exercises will also assist weight control by burning calories and fat.
Although parents should lead by example, they do not have to carry the entire burden for their children’s fitness. Organized sports provide children of all ages with structured fitness and discipline. Besides the traditional sports of hockey, football, baseball, basketball, and soccer, parents can look into some other fun activities, including sports enhancement programs, martial arts, dance, swimming, tennis, and other recreational programs with peers.

They one of these activities with your children today.

In the beginning, these exercises can be performed slowly, with up to two minutes of rest time between each exercise. As the child progresses, the exercises can be performed one after the other with no resting time and longer holding periods.

Prone Iso Abs

Begin by lying face down on the floor with feet together and forearms on the ground, hands clenched in a fist at shoulder level.
Draw abs inward, squeeze glutes (gluteus maximus), and lift entire body off the ground until it forms a straight line, resting body weight on forearms and toes.
Hold for three seconds, then slowly return body to ground, keeping chin tucked and back flat.

Floor Prone Cobra

Lay face down on the floor with arms in front of body, palms facing downwards.
Squeeze glutes, draw abdominals in, and pinch shoulder blades together while lifting chest off the floor. Keep chin tucked.
Hold for three seconds, then slowly return upper body to floor.

Floor Two-Legged Bridge

Begin by lying flat on back with knees bent, feet flat, toes pointed straight ahead, and arms by sides.
Squeeze glutes, and lift hips off ground to form a straight line between knees and shoulders.
Hold for three seconds, then slowly return hips to floor.

Joseph Rossi of YESS Fitness is a certified trainer and speed, agility, and quickness coach who works with men, women, and children of all ages. He can be reached at YESSfitness@aol.com.

Source: alive #263, September 2004

Come On, Let's Play
Athletes shake their limbs and ready themselves against the starting block in habitual pre-race ritual, coercing their bodies into a tightly coiled spring..

Children's Health: Sleeping Soundly
Are you feeling frustrated with your efforts to settle your children at night? Is your child waking more frequently? Sleeping difficulties in children are one of the most common concerns raised by parents.

PBDEs
Many of us are familiar with DDT and thinning eggshells, and we may have heard about the dangers of PCBs. But most of us are unaware that another group of ubiquitous and toxic chemicals is in our midst.

What's Eating Our Kids?
Common sense tells us that what's eating our kids is what they're eating. If they eat junk food, they will have junk bodies and junk feelings. An overburdened liver must struggle to detoxify the synthetic ingredients in processed food; a malnourished brain is more susceptible to the neurotoxic effect of "excitotoxins (MSG and aspartame) that lead to emotional and neurological imbalance.

De-Stressing Our Children This Holiday Season
When we think of the holiday season, weconjure up images of beautifully wrappedpresents, out-of-town relatives, and delicious food. Yet, even though the holidayseason can be filled with joy and abundance, this time of year can also bequite stressful for adults and children.

Teach Your Children Well
There are certain well-researched health and nutritional truths that can improve your children's health and overall well-being. Once implemented in your household, the following practices will optimize your children's health and wellness, both physically and mentally.

enviroment

Need three more reasons to go to alive.com ("Lobbying Letters") and print out your letter opposing the commercialization of genetically engineered wheat in Canada? 1.

Start young for better health

Encouragement goes a long way

Genius at Work?
Creating a functional study area in children's bedrooms won't guarantee them a future Nobel Prize, but it should make homework less of a chore. Good design is easy to achieve, and inexpensive, too.

Growing Up Green
For many earth-aware parents, the birth of a child sparks the shift from green thinking to eco-action. Perhaps having a baby puts a face to the future generations affected by our environmental choices, or maybe concerns for our children's health simply lead to a greener way of thinking.

Say "Wii" to Weight Loss
At five years old, Tsubasa Miyahara is already a video game expert who's capable of kicking adult butts at Wii games. He's mastered boxing, golf, and tennis, and has the best electronic backhand on the block. Can playing these exergames be a healthy substitute for real activity?

Silken Laumann's Active Kids Movement
Where have all the children gone? That's what former Olympic rower and motivational speaker, Silken Laumann wondered when she took her children to the park. Kids weren't playing road hockey or riding bikes or playing all the fun games she recalled from her own childhood in Mississauga, Ontario.

School Lunch Solutions
We all want healthy meals for our children. But in a busy world, achieving this is sometimes easier said than done, and so we look for simple food solutions for kids' lunches.