In earlier blogs, we highlighted physical activity recommendations, resources, and programs that for seniors and young children from infants to pre-schoolers. We now want to bring you up to date on similar resources for elementary and middle-school age kids.  Happily, there is a bunch of stuff because this is an important age for kids to develop healthy habits that combat obesity all life long.

Physical Activity Recommendations

But before we go there, let’s take a look at how physical activity should fit into the lives of children ages six through twelve.  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics¹, elementary children should:

• Enjoy free play
• Begin emphasis on fundamental skill development (dance, jumping rope, throwing, ball dribbling, etc.)
• Participate in organized sports that have flexible rules and brief periods of instruction.  The focus should be on having fun rather than winning.

With regard to being physically active, middle school-aged kids can:

• Focus on learning the enjoyment of movement with family and friends
• Increase skill development and begin learning tactics and strategies to enable participation in sports, if desired
• Become involved in contact sports being careful that teams are comprised based on maturity (i.e., size) and skill rather than chronological age
• Begin weight training but only under supervision and with light weights using many repetitions instead of heavy weights with fewer repetitions.

Resources and Programs

In keeping with these recommendations, there are many wonderful programs, web sites, and materials that can help engage youth – yours or others in your community – in becoming a physically active kid.   We have introduced some of them to you in earlier blogs:

Take 10! – an age-specific curriculum to get children moving (and learning) for 10-minute mini-workouts

Discover the Forest – a campaign by the National Forest Service to promote outdoor play

But here are a few more:

BAM! – stands for "Body and Mind" and is a web site for kids age 9-13 to learn about healthy lifestyle choices, including physical activity.  The focus is on presenting topics of interest to this age group via games, quizzes and other interactive features.

Kidnetic – is an active living and healthy eating web site that engages children with parents/caregivers in a variety of high-energy games including one in which the child creates their own dance by self-selecting a series of dance moves and music.  Who wouldn’t want to get up and boogie to their own choreographed masterpiece?

We CAN! – an acronym for Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity and Nutrition, We Can! provides a centralized place where parents, caregivers, health professionals, journalists, and other partners can access information and resources to promote healthy weight in kids.

Childhood is a critical time to learn active living and calorie buring habits.  As a parent, caregiver, or community member, you have a responsibility to help children develop a healthy lifestyle foundation.  But you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.  Check out these resources and let us know which you think are the best.

1 American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness and Council on School Health.  Active healthy living:  Prevention of childhood obesity through increased physical activity.  Pediatrics.  2006;117:1834-1842.