Childhood Physical Activity: Learning to Associate with Positive Outcomes

Undoubtably, physical activity is important for children to partake in for both proper physical and mental development and overall well-being. Perhaps now more than ever, children are growing up in sedentary households. If physical activity is limited in a child’s day-to-day routine, then allocating time specifically for engagement in physical activity is a good idea. Importantly, parents and guardians must understand that the language they use, and the attitudes they express about physical activity towards their child, largely shapes their child’s perceptions and feelings about physical activity. In my professional opinion, having children experience fun, positive outcomes associated with physical activity is the best way to create habitual physical activity participation that lasts a lifetime. Instead of teaching our children we must exercise so that our body looks a certain way, we simply show children how much fun physical activities are. We want children to experience and associate positive feelings with physical activity because they will much more likely engage in it on their own as they get older. What conditions must parents and guardians create so children have positive experiences doing physical activities? Simply put, we must make the physical activity fun, and children want whomever they are playing with to have fun with them! Whether you take your child to the playground, a soccer field, the backyard, or a YMCA gym, you, as the adult, are in control as to whether or not the experience is fun. Laughing, smiling, staying engaged (keeping the phone away), and being encouraging are all elements that contribute to children having a good physical activity experience. Similar to how children learn to speak a language from exposure to that language, children learn how to move their body from exposure to all different kinds of movement patterns. For example, children who spend very little time running, jumping, and moving in different directions at different speeds in their youth, are generally less coordinated as adults. As a result, they are less likely to partake in physical activities as adults because of this incoordination. Exposing children to a variety of physical activities throughout their youth ensures that they develop coordination, proprioception (awareness of ones body position in space), and confidence moving in a variety of ways. I recommend having your child try many different sports in early to middle childhood to help them learn which sports are their favorite. During adolescence, encourage your child to continue playing a few different sports, ones that are their favorite, throughout the year. Your child will develop more advanced skill and ability in these select sports during adolescence. Keep in mind, the number of sports offered at schools are limited and may not be an exhaustive list of all possible sports available for your child to try. Other popular, non-school sponsored sports include ultimate frisbee, weight lifting, fencing, rowing, flag football, pickle ball, handball, and many more! I understand some children have very little to no interest in sport participation, and that is okay! Non-competitive physical activities, like dance, recreational hiking, biking, weight lifting, jogging, gardening, yoga, some forms of martial arts, and kayaking are great alternatives for children less interested in competition. 

Pictured Above: Personal Trainer David and his youth client, Brayden, before their 5k race!