Physical Fitness

      Physical fitness is important for kids, because it helps them use their energy. Children are so full of energy, and they need some way to expend it. An important part of creating the understanding of physical activity includes understanding that it can be a part of your everyday activities. It is important for young children to be involved in physical fitness, because it helps all aspects of a child’s development. In preschool children are still perfecting their fine and gross motor skills. Physical activity can be very helpful with this, because most physical activities require some kind of gross motor skills. Some fine motor skills are used when being physically active. By being physically active it helps with a child’s cognitive and social development. A child is learning how to share and work with others, and most physical activities for preschoolers require cooperation and sharing.

 

•   Children that are not physically active are usually more sedentary. When children are more

     sedentary they can become overweight. Being overweight can affect a child’s self esteem.

•   Physical activity can help to counteract the more sedentary life style that a lot of young children   

     have these days. Children who spend lots of time doing activities that do not require physical

     activity and drink more sugary drinks tend to be overweight.

•   Adults can help to develop good fitness habits in children by demonstrating good fitness habits  

     themselves. When children see that the adults are doing it, they are more likely to want to do the

     same thing.

•  Playing an animal game where each child acts out a different animal. Each child is given an animal

   to pretend to be. They take turns acting like their animals for their friends to see. When they all

   have had a turn, line them all up and go for an animal parade, while the children continue to act as

   their animals. Children have lots of fun, and are moving around learning about animals at the same

   time.

•  Use blocks to create a path or road for either play cars or the children. Each child stacks the blocks

    up and around to create a little road that they will take turns driving on. Children use their fine   

    motor skills while building the road, and their gross motor when they pretend to be the cars and

    drive through the road.

•  “Be supportive. Help children to accept and feel good about themselves by supporting,  accepting,  

     and encouraging them, regardless of their body size or shape” (New York State Department of

     Health,2006).

•  “Preventing obesity and overweight is easier then correcting it” (Robertson, 2013, p. 272).

•  “Time spent in physical activity also helps create neural connections in the brain” (Robertson,

     2013, p. 273).

•  Children’s bone health, body composition, cardiorespiratory, and muscular fitness will improve

    by following the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans according to the evidence   

    (Robertson, 2013).

•  “…. Physical activity patterns developed in childhood tend to last throughout adulthood”

     (Goodway & Robinson, 2006).

It is important to consider all of the types of physical activity that a child could engage in when discussing how it affects development. Physical activity is important for your heart and other organs. Children that are taught that physical activity is good for them will continue with the same pattern as they get older. Patterns started as a child have a tendency to stick with the child into adulthood.

Resources

American Red Cross. (2012). Prepare for emergencies with American red cross first aid, CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) courses. Retrieved on September 22, 2012 from
http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/program-highlights/cpr-first-aid/workplaces-schools-individuals#first-aid-cpr-aed.   
Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.