Importance of Exercise for Kids

It’s never too early to introduce the importance of exercise for kids, since an active lifestyle can be a lifelong habit. Educators and parents can help encourage children to get more exercise at home and school.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children get 60 minutes of physical activity every day. If you think children don’t have time for this — or that they’d rather be playing video games — you’re not alone.
It’s never too early to introduce the importance of exercise for kids, since an active lifestyle can be a lifelong habit.

Importance of Exercise for Kids

Did you know that regular physical activity can help children and adolescents improve cardiorespiratory fitness, build strong bones and muscles, control weight, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and reduce the risk of developing health conditions?

That means that the simple act of physical activity sure can help support the healthy development of children. It is important for parents and educators to provide young people a wide variety of fun opportunities and encouragement to participate in physical activities that are age appropriate.

10 Benefits of Physical Activity for Children

Here are 10 reasons to support the importance of exercise for kids:
10.  Improves children’s overall physical fitness
9.  Practice motor skills
8.  Healthy competition when active in sports
7.  Improves self confidence
6.  Encourages socialization when physically active with friends
5.  Reduces obesity
4.  Improves the mood
3.  Helps with self regulation
2.  Encourages setting and achieving goals
1.  BRAIN BOOSTER!!!!!!!  The positive benefits of physical activity include cognitive skills (executive functioning, attention span, memory and verbal comprehension), higher academic test scores, motor planning and impulse control.

How Much Physical Activity is Recommended?

The CDC recommends the following for school age children to reinforce the importance of exercise for kids:

  • Aerobic: Most of the 60 minutes or more per day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity and should include vigorous-intensity physical activity on at least 3 days a week.

  • Muscle-strengthening: As part of their 60 minutes or more of daily physical activity, children and adolescents should include muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days a week.

  • Bone-strengthening: As part of their 60 minutes or more of daily physical activity, children and adolescents should include bone-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days a week.

Need Resources to Get Kids Moving?

If you need resources to support the importance of exercise for kids, these may be helpful at school and home.

25 Bilateral Coordination Exercises – Download of 28 bilateral coordination exercise sheets including QR codes with links to video demonstration of exercises. Also includes hand out explaining bilateral coordination.

Do you need quick and easy brain breaks for the classroom? You can download two FREE printables that are perfect for the classroom.

Roll Some Fun Brain Breaks has been updated to include 30 no-prep, boredom busting brain breaks to encourage visual motor skills, sensory motor skills, and FUN.  Each game board can be done with one person or a group in a small or large space!

Exercises for the Classroom and Home is a set of 5 posters to encourage simple fitness activities for students.  This is available as a digital download OR printed posters.

Research tells us that short aerobic exercise sessions can help children with: cognitive flexibility, self-regulation, behavior, and academic achievement! This Cardio Aerobic Exercises for Small Spaces digital download packet includes 15 aerobic exercise sheets including QR codes with links to animated video demonstration of each exercise.

 

It’s never too early to introduce the importance of exercise for kids, since an active lifestyle can be a lifelong habit.

Reference:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Healthy Schools – Physical Activity Facts.  Retrieved from the web on 3/22/21 at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm.

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