by Doreen Marion Gee –
The benefits to children of being active, moving and exercising go far beyond what experts could ever have imagined. “Physical Literacy” is as essential to the overall well-being of children as being academically literate. Nobody knows this better than the staff at Panorama Recreation Centre.
A 2011 ground-breaking paper, Physical Activity, Sport and Youth: Knowing and Acting, summarized many studies in the field; its conclusions greatly expanded our knowledge of the benefits of regular physical activity to children and youth. As well as boosts to overall health and fitness, the researchers found increases in bone strength, improved mental health and self-esteem, opportunities to develop social skills, and better academic performance. The paper recommends that “Children and adolescents should engage in as many physical activities as possible every day” and it should be ongoing.
Kamma Wiggins, Panorama’s Acting Fitness, Weights and Rehabilitation Coordinator, explains Physical Literacy: “It is the bare bones movements of physical activity like running, jumping, throwing, catching, much like the ABC’s are the bare bones of reading and writing.” Why does Panorama emphasize this concept? “At Panorama we try to promote physical activity for all ages. Our Physical Literacy programs allow young children to be physically active in a fun way and hopefully will promote more active lifestyle choices later in life.” And why is it so important? Kamma: “If children don’t have a chance to develop these base skills it makes it much harder for them to feel comfortable participating in sports as they get older. If a child can’t throw or catch with confidence they are less likely to participate in sports like baseball, basketball, rugby, football, etc. There are far too many hours of sitting time in our society so if we can remove one barrier we are one step closer to healthy children.”
According to Claire Erdem and Jason Gray, Panorama’s Community Recreation Coordinators for Youth Programs, the Rec Centre is presently offering a variety of program options that promote Physical Literacy. “We are working with the Pacific Institute of Sports Excellence and Vancouver Island Sportball to deliver programs for early ages such as Mini Movers, Active Start, Sportball Junior and Sportball Multi-Sport. These programs all incorporate elements of physical literacy to encourage confidence and a positive physical activity experience. For school-aged children, we run a variety of activity programs including soccer, hockey, gymnastics, dance and swimming. All of these programs incorporate fundamental movement skills and encourage success through participation.”
Kamma believes “the number of unhealthy children in our society could be cut down remarkably with the presence of a basic skill set.” It’s a no-brainer: Turn off the Playstation, kids, and go play outside!
Source: http://activeforlife.com/proof-that-physical-activity-improves-kids-lives/. Contact: www.crd.bc.ca/panorama.
