This was the first article I wrote for Helium. Now they have limited their contributors and had asked me to keep a copy of my article.
With the increase in sedentary lifestyle and sedentary leisure, and preference for high fat, low nutrition food,no wonder our kids are on a fast track to a lot of health problems. Obesity, asthma, allergy are few of those problems to name. It becomes the responsibility of the parents to ensure that along with the proper food, the kids should also have access to exercise. It is important here that the parents take an active participation in their child's leisure to ensure their healthy life. These children are our future and one would like to have a healthy future.
Right exercise and right food is important for everyone to remain fit. Biologically and physically the children are different from the grown ups. That is why they need exercises that are different from the ones prescribed for grown ups. Exercise is done with an intention to enhance three basic components, strength, flexibility and endurance.
To make it simpler, the children can be divided into three major groups. The first group has children in the age group of one to five. This age group hardly needs any extra exercise. The kids are so active themselves that any extra exercise will become a burden. These kids should be encouraged to play and enjoy themselves in the playground. Their play takes care of all the components of exercising. This is their exercise.
Children in the next age group 5-12 should be educated about lifetime sports and other physical activities. Enjoying while playing should be the key here too. Kids of these ages should be involved in activities such as bicycling, skating, swimming, soccer etc. These activities will help in increasing their strength, flexibility and endurance.
Children in the age group of 12 and above should be encouraged to participate and compete in sports. Strength training and other exercises should be included in this age group. Strength training here should not be confused with weight training. Children should not be asked to do body building, weight/ power lifting. Strength can also be enhanced with simple equipments like resistance bands, free weights and specially their own body weights.
Certain things are to be kept in mind while keeping the children active. Children should never exercise or play unsupervised. Care should be taken to keep the children hydrated at all times. Soreness in muscles and joints indicates that the intensity of exercise is more than what is required. Also children should be attired for the game they are playing to avoid injuries. Children with problems like, asthma, diabetes, obesity etc should consult a doctor before taking up any sport actively.
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