The start of the school year is a challenging time for both parents and children. Getting back into a routine after a long period of holidays can be overwhelming and tiring.
However, the start of the year is a great time to plan ahead and consider the health of your kids. Prioritising daily physical activity should be as important as them doing their homework or brushing their teeth.
It’s scary to see how high obesity rates in Australian children and adolescents have increased in the past few decades.
There are so many benefits of physically active children. Children:
- are likely to be more social
- are less susceptible to depression and anxiety
- display better memory and thinking skills.
As well as impacting academic outcomes, exercise has also been shown to affect the size of children’s brains. A recent study found that children who are physically fit have a greater volume of grey matter in the brain, which is important for executive function (the mental skills that help us get things done), learning, motor skills and visual processing1.
Active Healthy Kids Australia found that four out of five primary school-aged children don’t meet the minimum requirements of an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day; even fewer are doing strength or weight-based activities2.
Chair of the APA Paediatric group, Nicole Haynes, says parents have a vital role in encouraging their children to create and maintain new exercise habits into their daily lives − such as regularly walking to and from school. “Nine out of 10 young Australians are sitting far too much, and with a new school year about to start, an easy way for children to increase their exercise is to walk or ride to school.”
Finding activities and sports which your child enjoys is the easiest way to keep them motivated. Parents are also arguably the most important role models their children’s life; therefore they should get moving regularly too. This means you’ll be looking after their health and your own.
References:
- Esteban-Cornejo, I. et al. (2017). A whole brain volumetric approach in overweight/obese children: Examining the association with different physical fitness components and academic performance. The Active Brains project, NeuroImage. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.011
- Active Healthy Kids Australia (2018). Muscular Fitness: It’s Time for a Jump Start. The 2018 Active Healthy Kids Australia Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Young People. Adelaide, South Australia: Active Healthy Kids Australia. http://dx.doi.org/10.25954/5b862301479a1