Getting fit is almost always at the top of adults’ to do list. But what about the kids? Too often couch-potato parents raise stroller-potato youngsters. With 10 percent of 2 to 5-year-olds and 16 percent of 6-to19-year-olds already overweight in the United States—and rising obesity rates in the rest of the world, experts say it’s crucial to get children moving early. Habits formed in childhood can often extend through adulthood. As New York pediatrician Jennifer Trachtenberg notes, “active kids do become active adults.” But that doesn't mean dragging your kids to the gym every day. “Any type of exercise is good, as long as it’s supervised, and parents are using common sense," says Keith Gorse, chair of the age-specific task force for the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.
Girls and boys just want to have fun. So let them. “Kids should play. They should move. They’re wired for these things naturally,” says pediatrician Peter Belamarich, associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Don’t forget to get down on the floor and play with your kids. Mike Monroe, a New York-certified strength and conditioning specialist who is lead trainer for an exercise program called PUSH, lets his 1-year-old son, Miles, crawl around him and on top of him. He also rolls a ball to Miles’s right side and then to his left. “People overanalyze what they think will help advance their kid,” says Monroe. Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, says he was like a “tree” for his four sons, now 10, 13, 15 and 17, when they were little, encouraging them to climb all over him. “One of the biggest mistakes parents make is to think it really has to be this really complex, packaged program and approach,” says Bryant. “The key is just to get your children to move. Just make sure it’s fun.” Don’t rush into organized sports. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends only 15 minutes of “structured activity” for preschoolers. After all, little kids’ attention spans are short, and they should be playing and exploring rather than doing formal calisthenics. The AAP statement also notes that participating in sports that aren’t age appropriate can cause problems: “When the demands of a sport exceed a child’s cognitive and physical development, the child may develop feelings of failure and frustration.” Enrolling them in ballet or gymnastics for tots is fine, with a caveat. “The key is not to take it too seriously,” says Dr. Angela Smith, an orthopedic surgeon at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who is past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. Whether your child grows into a basketball superstar comes down to nature and nurture, says Small. “There’s genes and what you do with those genes.”
Turn off the television. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for kids under 2, and no more than two hours of total screen time (TV, videogames, computers) for older children. Belamarich, a New York pediatrician, finds it sad when he asks kids to tell him about their hobbies and they say Playstation and XBox. “I’m seeing a bunch of kids pushing buttons hour after hour,” he says. Kids who watch more than 10 hours of TV each week are more likely to be overweight, aggressive and slow to learn in school, according to the American Medical Association. There are also concerns that kids who are “over stimulated” by TV and videos may be more prone to Attention Deficit Disorder. If your kids can’t resist the lure of the computer, have them engage in a “learning activity instead of a mindless activity,” says Vehrs of BYU.
Be a good role model. “Set the example of knowing that activity is as important as brushing your teeth,” says Sandra Perlmutter, former executive director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and an adviser to a company called athleticBaby. It’s good for kids to see you head out on a run. (But don’t take them with you in a Baby Jogger until they’re at least six months old because they lack sufficient control of their heads.) Walk with your little ones. Or get them to “exercise” with you. Every day, Baton Rouge, La., speech pathologist April Garrity, 29, and her daughter, Susanna, do “downward facing dog” and other yoga moves together. Susanna also likes doing push-ups along with her dad. “They see us working out,” says Garrity. And they naturally want to join in the fun.
Girls and boys just want to have fun. So let them. “Kids should play. They should move. They’re wired for these things naturally,” says pediatrician Peter Belamarich, associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Don’t forget to get down on the floor and play with your kids. Mike Monroe, a New York-certified strength and conditioning specialist who is lead trainer for an exercise program called PUSH, lets his 1-year-old son, Miles, crawl around him and on top of him. He also rolls a ball to Miles’s right side and then to his left. “People overanalyze what they think will help advance their kid,” says Monroe. Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, says he was like a “tree” for his four sons, now 10, 13, 15 and 17, when they were little, encouraging them to climb all over him. “One of the biggest mistakes parents make is to think it really has to be this really complex, packaged program and approach,” says Bryant. “The key is just to get your children to move. Just make sure it’s fun.” Don’t rush into organized sports. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends only 15 minutes of “structured activity” for preschoolers. After all, little kids’ attention spans are short, and they should be playing and exploring rather than doing formal calisthenics. The AAP statement also notes that participating in sports that aren’t age appropriate can cause problems: “When the demands of a sport exceed a child’s cognitive and physical development, the child may develop feelings of failure and frustration.” Enrolling them in ballet or gymnastics for tots is fine, with a caveat. “The key is not to take it too seriously,” says Dr. Angela Smith, an orthopedic surgeon at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who is past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. Whether your child grows into a basketball superstar comes down to nature and nurture, says Small. “There’s genes and what you do with those genes.”
Turn off the television. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for kids under 2, and no more than two hours of total screen time (TV, videogames, computers) for older children. Belamarich, a New York pediatrician, finds it sad when he asks kids to tell him about their hobbies and they say Playstation and XBox. “I’m seeing a bunch of kids pushing buttons hour after hour,” he says. Kids who watch more than 10 hours of TV each week are more likely to be overweight, aggressive and slow to learn in school, according to the American Medical Association. There are also concerns that kids who are “over stimulated” by TV and videos may be more prone to Attention Deficit Disorder. If your kids can’t resist the lure of the computer, have them engage in a “learning activity instead of a mindless activity,” says Vehrs of BYU.
Be a good role model. “Set the example of knowing that activity is as important as brushing your teeth,” says Sandra Perlmutter, former executive director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and an adviser to a company called athleticBaby. It’s good for kids to see you head out on a run. (But don’t take them with you in a Baby Jogger until they’re at least six months old because they lack sufficient control of their heads.) Walk with your little ones. Or get them to “exercise” with you. Every day, Baton Rouge, La., speech pathologist April Garrity, 29, and her daughter, Susanna, do “downward facing dog” and other yoga moves together. Susanna also likes doing push-ups along with her dad. “They see us working out,” says Garrity. And they naturally want to join in the fun.
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