Everywhere in the news these days you hear that many children are becoming overweight. Lack of physical activity, too much fat or sugar in the diet, and excess time in front of the television or computer can be part of the problem.

While nutrition has a major impact on a child’s growth and weight, appropriate nutrition coupled with exercise can help children with getting the right types of foods as well as keeping their bodies moving. Exercise is an important part of the nutrition partnership and teaching young children about movement can help put in place a lifetime of healthy exercise.

While children in early childcare and education settings probably do not spend time watching TV, there is still a need to keep children moving and active during their childcare day. Sometimes, children start moving when you are trying to accomplish other activities, such as during art or meal time. You might find yourself making statements such as, “Johnny, please sit still” or, “Lisa, sit in your chair and finish drawing your picture.” So how do you strike a balance between children’s need to move and other activities?

Children need to exercise and use their large muscles to run, jump, climb, and play. Most childcare programs allow at least an hour of outside time each day when children can be physically active, but is this time on the playground enough activity for young children? Are you doing all you can to promote fitness and healthy growth?

Movement is inherent in children. It is their way of learning about their bodies and how they fit into the world around them. It also is nature’s way of building strength and agility, and keeping young bodies at a healthy weight. But for better or worse, as children grow older, they are expected to sit still more and more often.

Most educational activities are designed for teaching quiet, focused children who are sitting still. Many caregivers and teachers find it easier to show children something if there is no extraneous movement going on. However, consider this: moving does not always get in the way of children learning. It can even help.

Whether the children are at home, childcare, or school, here is a challenge for you--in whatever capacity you work with children--let them wiggle! Let them do what they do so well--move! You may be pleasantly surprised to find that not only are the children happier and healthier, but they may even learn more about their world than you ever imagined.

One study examined an elementary school classroom filled with ‘fidgety’ students. The teacher of this classroom encouraged his students to keep moving and not just sit at their desks to do their work. His little experiment revealed some interesting insights into his students’ learning: the wiggly students appeared more focused on their work than peers in a traditional, seated classroom.

Planned movement on a regular basis throughout the day is good. Here are some simple ideas that can easily be incorporated into most early childcare and education settings. With a little imagination and effort, children in your care will be up and moving in no time!

The ideal setting is a large play area with equipment to climb on, crawl through, hang from, balance on, etc. This can be as elaborate as expensive play yard equipment, or as simple as cardboard boxes arranged over a soft ground/floor cover.

Spend time moving around a room as different animals, trees in the wind, or flowers growing in the warm sunshine--you get the idea. It does not take a lot of room to just jump up and down like a pogo stick or stretch up to the clouds. Try to balance structured activities with others that allow the children to be creative, such as when they are playing on playground equipment.

If your facility has certain educational TV programs that children watch regularly, come up with ways to ‘sit’ that also let them move. Have you ever sat on a large exercise ball? You can bounce, shift side to side, roll down to your back, and more while just sitting there. Children can even lie across the ball on their stomachs and roll to and fro.

You can find exercise balls in lots of sizes. Actual exercise balls are recommended over gym balls as they need to be strong; playground or gym balls may not survive very long. Put them around your area and let the children sit on them not only while watching educational TV, but while they color or engage in other activities together.

Large muscles also are strengthened when children balance themselves in various ways. You can easily make balancing boards from 10”-12” squares of 1” lumber with a large wooden knob attached in the center. The child can hold on to the back of a chair or couch while they stand on the board (knob side to the floor) and try to balance just on the knob. They eventually will learn to let go of the couch and just balance.

Another type of balance board can be made with a longer, thinner board (8” x 18” x 1” thick) that would balance over a 1” x 8” length of dowel rod placed under the center of the board (In the middle of the 18” length.) Older children could work up to putting this type of board over something a little larger, such as PVC pipe, as they perfect their balancing skills.

Children love to jump, and pillows or cushions can be placed on the floor--beside a couch or sturdy table is a great place where the children can hold on--so the children can jump! It is instant exercise and they can still listen to a story or sing a song while jumping.

These are just a few ideas that can get your children more active, and you might be surprised just how much more of the world they can absorb as they are moving. Kinesthetic learners (those who learn best through movement) may be the stars; a good thing because it is often kinesthetic learners who have the hardest time learning simple things because they have been told to sit still while they work on projects.

Maybe it is time to make some changes in how your children view learning and spending their leisure time. Let them wiggle and jump and move. Encourage them to NOT sit still! Movement is good, and not only for children but for adults, too. Join your children by bringing out your own exercise ball.

Marilyn Grechus, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Health Education, Central Missouri State University

American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231; 800-AHA-USA-1; www.americanheart.org

About, www.parenting.about.com/od/kidsexerciseandfitness/

Kid’s Health, kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/fitness/exercise.html

Medline Plus, www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/exerciseforchildren.html

National Network for Child Care, www.nncc.org/Health/fc43_exercise.html