Physical Fitness and Childhood Obesity - Tips for Getting Kids More Active

Ever since having kids, my shopping habits have completely changed. After discovering kid's consignment stores, that is the only place I shop for kid's clothes and shoes. I am also obsessed with consignment stores in general, as I have an addiction to designer labels at thrift store prices. It works for our family, since we are on a pretty tight budget.

It has been at least three or four years since I have been in a real department store in the kids clothing section. So I was a little shocked (and a little sad) by what I saw last week when I was in JC Penny's girls department.

I read all the articles about childhood obesity, and I see it every day at school and at after school activities, but walking by a 'Plus Size for Girls' section of the department store put it all in perspective.Clearly there is a market for clothes designed for overweight kids.

I understand that parenting is extremely tough, especially when it comes to food - my kids eat more than their fair share of crap. Here is what I don't understand. If a parent knows the pain, struggles, and frustration of being overweight, why would they ever allow their kids to endure the same agony?

We know that parents influence kids every day with words and actions, and when mom and dad regularly encourage kids to be active, they help kids to appreciate fitness and have fun along the way.

Teaching practical life skills is one of the many roles that parents have. Things like how to brush teeth, how to tell time, how to tie shoes, and to add one more to the list - how to be healthy and active.

It's never too late to start a healthy habit, especially with kids. Kids like to move, and though it is highly unlikely that a child goes from couch potato to Olympian, there are several ways parents can influence their children to exercise.

While verbal encouragement or logistical support, such as driving kids to soccer practice, is important, parents' attitudes about health and fitness and their own patterns of physical activity are equally as important, since kids often follow by example.

Being active together has shown to have a significant impact on how kids view exercise, but it often goes down as a child's age goes up. Younger children are more likely to want to spend time being active with their parents than teenagers, so there may be a window of opportunity to use it before losing it when it comes to co-activity.

And even though the sphere of influence on kids can be far and wide from friends to teachers to Sponge Bob, few are as direct and important as parents.

Children are well known for their contrary nature. Tell them to do something, and quite often they will do the opposite. So trying to force children to exercise may not be the best strategy.

Every parent has his or her way of approaching life lessons, but the idea with fitness is to get children to appreciate being active, and have a little fun along the way. "Because I said so" may work for putting the dishes away, but encouragement, celebrating small victories, and doing things together can be effective ways to motivate kids to get fit and stay active. And no child wants their brain to turn to mush because of too much television.

Whether is it sports, riding bikes, a martial arts class, or walking the dog every night, it is important to consistently present each opportunity in a positive way. It may take a bit of time and patience, but when children find the fun in being active, fitness can become a part of everyday life.

When kids are active at a young age, the habit can last throughout their lifetime, and influencing kids to be active at an early age is no different than teaching them the golden rule or respecting their elders. So it's time to put fitness right up there with teaching children how to ride a bike and that there's no hiding a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

I am a stay-at-home mom and "gym rat" certified in Fitness Nutrition. Health and fitness takes work, dedication, perspective and good information. I hope I can provide you with tips to work hard, inspiration to dedicate yourself to a fit lifestyle, a no nonsense perspective on fitness and weight loss, and reliable information so that you can become the best you.

As a mom, I always appreciate a great tip. Whether it is a shortcut on how to prepare a recipe faster, or a trick for putting on makeup, the right tip will make my day a little easier. Fitness and nutrition are no different.

Most people are short on time, so I want to give you tips and tools to get the most out of your fitness and nutrition in the best use of your time.

Healthier Choices, Happier You!
http://www.fitchicktricks.com/

Original article

Why Physical Fitness Class Is Better Than Club/Membership Involvement for Students

As a future physical educator, I've learned the very importance of physical education while studying for my degree, but even more so with the involvement with my students. The truth of the matter is physical education class is vital to any student's success in the future. In the early grades we go over key motor skill and development tasks. As we progress through the grades, we target other more in depth skills, such as strategy and cooperative games, that incorporate these fundamental motor skills. This directly can be associated with our National Association of Sport and Physical Education standards, but more importantly teach students how to participate in a variety of skills. Other than these tasks, we also are able to associate physical fitness with fun and positive experiences, by offering our students a chance to expand in their imagination and creativity. These are also vital skills that teach students to come up with their own ideas and to adapt to different environments, as they will need to do these tasks on a daily basis. The physical education class is the only place that can allow such a dramatic and dynamic learning atmosphere.

The main reason clubs and other various programs do not and will not ever be able to fulfill the skills learned in our physical education class is because they are all based of specificity training. Specificity training is when clubs, memberships, etc. train children and adolescence to be particular good at one skill. For example, swimming memberships specifically would train students to only be proficient in in-water activities. However, it is common knowledge that a majority of physical fitness happens outside the water rather than in it. While I find the program to be of great value for those who want to go on to swim competitively, it does not teach the motor skills needed to even participate in swimming.

Let's say you were a student who joined the swim team in your area because your physical education class was terminated at the beginning of the year. Now that your program is cut, you need to attend swim practice after school three times a week for one hour. This means that homework along with dinner will have to wait or be rescheduled for a different time. You are also swimming around 20-50 laps during practice and learning the max of the four strokes available to swimmers. Now imagine that your physical education class was not terminated and is scheduled twice a week during your school day. After a given subject classes you go the gymnasium to find out this week and next you will be touching on your basketball skills with an instant activity and a scooter basketball tournament. The following two weeks your will be playing racket ball with again an instant activity, as well as, a mini round robin tournament. This example shows how there are multiple of other factors that go into students needing to attend an outside activity rather than a physical education class; for example, after school time taken away from valuable homework time and the fact that being involved in only one activity stiffens a student's skills and imagination. Also, it is imperative that as physical educator's we place emphasis on not only team sports, but also individual sports. Even back yard games such as Can Jam and Horse Shoes are games played at family and community events. If we do not teach these basic games to our students who will? Put yourself in our student's shoes with this example and examine which is truly better for accomplishing both these goals. The answer is physical education.

It is our duty as a physical education program to teach these skills to our students and associate them with positive memories. This will in turn allow students to be excited about physical fitness and be much more successful in the helping them continue to participate in physical fitness throughout their life. This is goal of not just the physical education class but expands throughout our community. As fitness is one of the essentials of life, it is one that is necessary to promote in our communities in a way that has value and success. The physical education classroom is our answer.

Original article