Nathan Hall & Melanie Gregg
In the current pandemic many parents of young children are finding themselves spending more time in the role of caregiver than usual. Keeping young children physically active and miminizing screen time while parents manage work schedules may be a serious challenge.
But even before families became more confined to home due to closures and social distancing, children were not getting enough physical activity. The 2020 ParticipACTION report card report card gives children and youth’s physical activity in Canada a D+. The report says less than one in five children and youth in Canada meet guidelines for sedentary behaviours, physical activity and sleep.
Our research investigates young children’s physical literacy, in their “early years,” from birth to age six.
The International Physical Literacy Association defines physical literacy as “the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life.”
Both when children are at home and when they are in care, parents are encouraged to consider how adults are supporting children’s physical development.
The importance of early childhood physical literacy development should not be overlooked. The brain connections and neural pathways that are formed before the age of five set the foundations for how the brain will develop throughout life.
This not only applies to the social, emotional and cognitive areas of development (or “domains”) but also the physical. There is strong support for physical activity in the early years, and researchers have reported that time spent in this critical developmental period focusing on physical development through physical activity and active play has many benefits.
Physically, this includes improved co-ordination and higher levels of fitness. Socially, this means improved co-operation and sharing with others. Emotionally, this means better management of emotions and overall behaviour.
Young children who are regularly engaged in physical activities also demonstrate cognitive benefits, including improved attention, problem-solving and persistence in tasks.
Research has shown that providing physical activity and active play in the early years positively relates with motor skill ability, fitness levels and physical activity in adolescence and beyond. All these have positive relationships to overall health and wellness.
Young children in Canada are growing up with unprecedented access to digital media and technology, which has led to some concerns among health professionals.
From a young age, children are enticed with bright and colourful screens and sometimes are just as likely to play games on a phone as they are to play with a ball on the floor, test their balance or ride a tricycle. Consequently, in comparison to previous generations, more children today are entering school lacking basic physical skills. In the province of Manitoba, more than a quarter (26.7 per cent) of children in kindergarten in 2018-19 did not meet motor skill expectations for their age.
It’s now more important than ever before that those caring for young children consider opportunities for physical development.
Each person’s physical literacy journey will take its own path, but adults play a crucial role in this journey by providing a range of opportunities and modelling an active lifestyle.
Being active as a family is the primary way children will build positive habits for physical activity, particularly before time spent with peers becomes an important factor.
Our previous research measured physical activity levels in children and found, on average, kids walked 3,604 fewer steps on a typical weekend day compared to school days. Because parents have a role in children’s physical activity and children typically spend weekends with parents, finding ways to increase family weekend physical activity is important.
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