The Pica Perspective

Children Failing at Physical Activity

Did you know that traditional competitive sports don't provide children with the opportunities necessary to acquire, practice, and refine their motor skills -- or even the skills required by the sports themselves?

Consider the following results of a variety of studies, reported by Steve Grineski in his book, Cooperative Learning in Physical Education:

• 75% of ball contacts were made by 40% of the players during a 3rd-grade soccer game.
• 35% of players never caught the ball, while 52% of players never threw the ball during a 5th-grade kickball game.
• Three students never touched the ball or ran the length of the gym floor during a 5th-grade kickball game.
• Twenty 3rd-grade children participating in a one-hour softball game had a total of 39 throwing and catching opportunities. The average number of throwing and catching opportunities for each child for the one-hour game was 2.3.
• Children participating in an hour-long hockey game had possession of the puck less than two minutes each.

In other words, the children involved in these situations had very few opportunities to improve their throwing, catching, kicking, dribbling, or stick-handling skills. And these were elementary-school children! Younger children forced to play adult games without adult skills find they don't even know what they're expected to do when finally given an opportunity to perform.

But you don't need the results of studies to know this is true. If you've ever been to any organized contests involving young children, you've probably witnessed it yourself. There's the right fielder who grows so bored waiting for a ball to come her way that, by the time one finally does arrive, she's busy finding creatures in the clouds. Or the "wide receiver" who hasn't seen the football in so long he's forgotten what his job is and periodically just trots down the field and then back to the huddle. How, exactly, are these children supposed to be improving their skills?

In short, if traditional competitive sports programs don't provide children with the opportunities necessary to acquire, practice, and refine their motor skills, how likely is it that improved motor development will take place? And doesn't this also say something about the ability of organized sports programs to improve physical fitness? If organized sports turn out to be nearly as sedentary as sitting on the couch, fitness certainly can't be the expected result!

But perhaps the more important questions are: If a child experiences more failure than success in organized sports, what happens to the love of movement she started life with? How likely is she to make physical activity an integral part of her later life?

The theory of flow, put forth by University of Chicago psychologist Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, contends that people are happiest when the challenges they face are equal to the skills they possess. So what happens when the challenges presented to children are beyond their ability to succeed? Anxiety is one probable result. Another is the development of learned helplessness: the expectation, based on past experience, that one's every effort will lead to failure.

Motivation theorists have discovered that when failure is attributed to lack of ability and ability is considered beyond one's control, the cycle leads to embarrassment, withdrawal, and a decline in performance. And it makes perfect sense. What would your reaction have been if, as a child who hadn't yet "broken the code" of putting letters together to form words, someone insisted you read Shakespeare? What if, before you even knew how to add and subtract, your parents had urged you to try solving algebra problems? Chances are, you would have blamed yourself for your inabilities, concluded you would never master such tasks, and simply given up.

When we put children into situations for which they're not ready, we set them up for failure. And failure, of course, feels bad, which is the last thing we want for our kids. More significant, numerous studies have shown that negative early experiences with sports are a major factor in why kids quit participating in physical activity altogether. And then what happens to fitness and health? Hint: we end up breeding more couch potatoes.

This Just In: Preschoolers in Child Care Centers Not Active Enough

According to a new study from researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, only 13.7% of child care centers in North Carolina offered 120 minutes of active playtime during the school day. The good news is that in 82% of the centers, children were not sitting for more than 30 minutes at a time and about 56 percent of centers had a written policy on physical activity.

Another study published by the same group found that only nine studies, all conducted since 2003, have tested ways to help young children in child care centers become more physically active.

The study recommended that researchers look at all areas of the child care environment, not just the amount of time children are provided for play. For example, other areas that relate to physical activity at preschools include the physical environment (such as fixed and portable play equipment), sedentary environment (such as television viewing time and the presence of TVs and computers in classroom), staff training and behaviors (such as staff joining in active play and providing verbal prompts to increase active play) and a written physical activity policy.

To this I would add: Look at how transitions can be used to increase physical activity levels, and incorporate movement into the curriculum!

Take It Outside! Week

The week of October 19-23 has been designated as the inaugural Take It Outside! Week.

To increase outdoor play while celebrating the environment, child care centers are invited to join Head Start Centers across the country in participating in the Inaugural Take It Outside! Week, October 19 – 23, 2009.  Presented by Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play (HSBS), the national initiative is sponsored by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR). Its purpose is to get children outside, connect with the natural world, and increase physical activity.

According to Center Director Karin Spencer, Ed.D., “Outdoor play is associated with greater amounts of physical activity in children, and research has shown that opportunities for whole body exercise has a long lasting influence as preschool physical activity tracks throughout childhood."

"Unfortunately children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation," added Spencer. "We want to help Head Start and all early childhood education and care staff to discover the benefits of outdoor play across developmental domains and learn about the features of high quality outdoor play spaces that promote movement opportunities for children of all ability levels. When adults model and teach the importance of physical activity, young children are more likely to adopt a lifetime of healthful practices and behaviors."

HSBS will provide programs with everything they need to celebrate Take It Outside! Week including activity ideas, tips for facilitating play, and suggestions for enhancing the environment.  From Books That Move You to 15 Simple Ways to Get Moving, the activities are designed to increase physical activity for young children and promote family involvement. For a wonderful array of free resources about Take It Outside! Week, visit www.headstartbodystart.org. 

 

 

Head Start Body Start

Last week I attended a meeting of master trainers for the new Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play. The center was created with a $12 million grant from the Office of Head Start, with the intention of increasing the levels of physical activity among children in Head Start programs. HSBS will provide grants of up to $5,000 to Head Start centers nationwide to improve their outdoor play space. Grants recipients will also receive targeted training and technical assistance from HSBS, including on-site consultation from a physical activity expert and access to on-line training. (The Play Space Grant RFP was released on May 15th. To access the RFP visit  the HSBS website.)

I have to admit I had mixed feelings about heading to Reston VA and HSBS headquarters. Although I'd agreed, when the grant was being written, to act as a master trainer should the grant be received, that was many months ago. Since then I've been busy, busy, busy; and BAM! has keep me pretty involved. I really didn't want to leave all my other work behind even for a few days.

Then our meetings began. Involved were four other master trainers and four HSBS staff members. And it was incredible. The energy in that conference room was amazing.

First of all, because I work mostly alone, it was a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by a room full of people who are passionate about early childhood physical activity. There are maybe only a couple of dozen of us in the country, so it's astonishing to even find a room full of people passionate about such a subject. And because everyone in that room felt so strongly about the contribution we could make to Head Start children -- and possibly children everywhere -- I renewed my dedication to the field I've been involved in for almost 30 years.

One of the most powerful moments came during a presentation by Nilda Cosco, an HSBS advisory board member and Education Specialist for the Natural Learning Initiative. Nilda showed us slides of outdoor settings and children's experiences in them (many of which were in Europe, unfortunately). In one (which did take place in Europe), a little girl sat on a hot day with her bare feet cooling in a stream. Nilda told us that she'd watched the little girl for about 15 minutes, during which the child gazed into the water and quietly sang to herself.

It was the kind of experience every child should have -- and so few do. And as my eyes filled with tears, I gazed around the room and saw I wasn't the only one who was moved.

So, yes. I have most definitely renewed my commitment to the work I've been doing for three decades. To children's active play -- and to as much of it as possible taking place outdoors!

May Is the Month to Get Moving!

This May is the 26th anniversary of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, with May 1-7 designated as National Physical Education and Sport Week. These events are sponsored by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).

The preeminent national authority on physical education and a recognized leader in sport and physical activity, NASPE is a non-profit professional membership association that sets the standard for practice in physical education and sport. NASPE’s 16,000 members include: K-12 physical education teachers, coaches, athletic directors, athletic trainers, sport management professionals, researchers, and college/university faculty who prepare physical activity professionals. NASPE seeks to enhance knowledge, improve professional practice, and increase support for high-quality physical education, sport and physical activity programs through research, development of standards, and dissemination of information. It is the largest of the five national associations that make up the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD).

NASPE recommends that schools and families incorporate at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity into each child’s daily routine. The challenge isn’t finding enough time in the day for a child to exercise, rather, it is helping each child identify a sport or activity that he or she enjoys as much as watching television or playing computer games.

“For many young kids (those under the age of eight), the problem isn’t inactivity, it is trying to slow them down. However, children between the ages of eight and 10 seem to choose one of two routes: the athletic way or the non-athletic way. Those who choose the athletic route play on teams, participate in dance clubs or martial arts, for example."

“As youngsters enter middle school, however, organized physical activities become limited. Thus the challenge for parents is to assist their children in finding physical activities that they enjoy doing with their friends, and that does not require a coach or instructor. Kids need to discover what else is out there for them: riding a bike, in-line skating, dancing, golf, tennis, martial arts or maybe going to the gym. It is important to allow them to explore these different opportunities and determine what activities they truly enjoy.”   

NASPE also suggests that parents limit the amount of time their children spend in front of the television or computer to less than two hours a day, and that they see their parents having fun participating in physical activities of their own choosing. Children learn by example. If you enjoy and participate in physical activity, so will your children.

Each day during kickoff week has a different theme: Adventure Day, Dance Day, Sport Day, Recreation Day, and Personal Fitness Day. For activity ideas, click here!

Studies in the News

Yesterday it was reported that children living close to parks and other play areas are more active. That may not seem so surprising, as we imagine children "frolicking" when we think of them in parks and playgrounds. What's interesting is that the study, conducted by researchers at Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center and Université de Montréal in Canada, found that for every park within a half-mile of home, a girl's likelihood of walking to school doubled and a boy's odds of taking part in leisure walking increased by 60 percent.

"There was a strong association between walking and the number of nearby public open recreational spaces, including neighborhood parks, playgrounds and sports fields," the study's lead author, Tracie A. Barnett, said in a news release issued by the Heart Association. "We were able to relate the proximity and number of parks to how often children aged 8 to 10 years walked."

Data for the study came from 300 families and more than 600 children participating in a study of weight and cardiometabolic risk in kids. Children in the study were all considered at a high risk for obesity because at least one parent already was obese. The researchers said that the findings were consistent even when factoring in family income and average level of education in the neighborhood, a measure of economic advantage.

Childhood and adolescent obesity increased three-fold in the past two decades, a rapid climb that Barnett said is thought to be more environmental than biological.

"In the past few decades, we have become more sedentary due to the increased use of labor-saving devices, motorized transportation, television and computers," she said. "In addition, children are spending more time inside, yet we know that spending time outdoors is an important determinant of activity. In future urban improvements, consideration must be given to parks, outdoor recreational areas and walking or cycling infrastructure in order to increase active living. Equally important is that the parks and recreational areas are well maintained and are safe."

The researchers plan to continue following the participant families for the next decade, or until the children turn 18, to measure how environment affects their weight.

According to an American Heart Association statement issued in June, "walkable" neighborhoods -- featuring sidewalks and places for physical activity -- can make it easier for people to get daily exercise and can help fight the climbing obesity rates.

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As reported on the CBS Evening News this week, the state of Texas experimented with a mandate for daily physical education and annual fitness tests for the state's 2.4 million kids ages 8 to 18. The idea was proposed to help combat increasing childhood obesity rates, but this first-of-its-kind study also looked at whether or not physically fit kids are better students. And you know what? They are.

According to Texas school officials, after just one year, students are performing better on standardized tests. Moreover, absentee rates -- and behavior problems -- have declined. Also, there is a direct correlation between more cardiovascular activity and better grades. At the top performing schools, where at least 90% of the students pass the state assessment tests, 80% of them are fit. Conversely, at the poorest performing schools, only 40% are fit!

This is exciting news, of course, for those of us who have long believed in the connection between mind and body. (Good grief -- Aristotle and Plato espoused the connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind!) What I find ironic is that it came from the state of Texas, where one of their (former?) state school board members once said that devoting too much time to physical education would result in kids who were healthy but dumb!

Infant Swim Programs

Where do you stand on infant swim programs? There's no doubt that they're highly popular (about five to ten million infants and preschoolers participate in formal instruction). But the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued warnings about them.

Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury and death in young children, with rates highest among American children ages one to two. Still, the AAP feels strongly enough about the issue of infant swim programs that is has released two policy statements on the subject, the fist in 1985 and an update in 2000.

According to the association, children are not developmentally ready for swimming lessons until they're four years old. Although they maybe able to perform elementary swimming motions at about 12 months, these motions are more along the lines of a dog paddle than a traditional swimming stroke, or front crawl. And, as with other skills learned before children are developmentally ready, aquatic skills take longer to learn and are limited by the children's neuromuscular capacity. Furthermore, starting early doesn't translate into "a higher level of swimming proficiency compared with those taking lessons at a later age."

In other words, the situation is the same as it is with hurrying other motor skills. Earlier isn't better, and it's certainly not going to help create a future Olympic swimmer. Also, the training itself may have a long-term effect on the child's sense of autonomy (self-sufficiency), as motivation is an essential ingredient in the learning of any skill -- and motivation is not yet in the infant's emotional repertoire.

But there's much more to consider here. Even when the program's intention is to focus on water safety knowledge rather than actual swimming skills (as is the intention of the aquatic programs of the YMCA and the Red Cross), caution is the key. Warns the AAP, "When instruction attempts to optimize learning by reducing fear of water, children may unwittingly be encouraged to enter the water without supervision."

Says David Elkind, in Miseducation, if parents enroll their babies in swim programs specifically to prevent drowning, they may unintentionally be shifting the responsibility for not drowning to the children themselves!

Furthermore, a child without the necessary cognitive skills may be unable to transfer his knowledge from one context to another. I well remember a story told by Kelly Ripa on "Live with Regis and Kelly" that illustrates this point. Kelly was telling Regis and their audience about her family's trip to Hawaii during which her preschool son was standing in a koi pond feeding the fish. He suddenly slipped and fell facedown into the pond. But, since he'd been enrolled in swimming programs -- several days a week for years -- and possessed many certificates proclaiming he could swim, she and her husband merely waited for their son's swimming skills to kick in. But they never did! He remained facedown and then began to sink. It appears the child knew what was expected of him in one situation (the swimming lessons) but not in an entirely new situation. (Being unable to transfer knowledge from one situation to another is to be expected, given the cognitive level of a preschooler.)

As Dr. Elkind points out, there may be other hazards as well. Infants in swimming classes are at risk for "middle-ear infections and potential permanent hearing loss, for autoasphyxiation from swallowing water, and for diarrhea, since the babies are not toilet-trained and the water may be polluted."

This is a highly controversial subject. Enthusiasts of infant swim classes defend them vehemently, claiming that their children have only benefited from them. What have been your experiences? What are your thoughts?

Children's Fitness Books

Thanks to Kara Thom for permission to reprint this post from her blog!

Three Good Children's Fitness Books We read a lot at our house. Olivia, Suess, Fancy Nancy and Skippy John Jones are always at the top of the heap. Fortunately these books are enjoyable for both parents and children. Is there anything worse than having to read a book you despise? And then getting called out when you try to skip over a page or two?

A few of our other favorites are fitness books. As I go about preaching fitness as a family value, they're the books that drive home the message right before drifting off to dream land, where yoga poses and fun runs dance through their heads. 

The Busy Body Book, by Lizzy Rockwell. There aren't many books out there that show kids getting fit or kids engaged in fitness. Very little exists beyond your standard hare and tortoise story. The Busy Body Book, however, covers kids fitness without ever mentioning the word "exercise." The book explains why it's important to move your body, and then what happens inside your body when you're busy and why good nutrition, hydration and rest are important, too. My kids love the anatomy lesson and all the pictures in the back that depict kids engaged in various physical activity. 

My Daddy is a Pretzel, by Baron Baptiste. If your children have ever watched you practicing yoga at home, or better, if they've tried to join you in various poses, then I highly recommend this book. It's a cute story with the explanation and illustrations for nine different kid-friendly yoga poses. My girls now know the names for each pose and how to do them, without the assistance of the book. Besides, doing a little yoga before bedtime is never a bad idea, and if you haven't managed to squeeze in your workout yet, then join them and let that count!

See Mom Run, by Kara Douglass Thom. Oh, right... that's me! What are blogs for if not for a little shameless self-promotion? The truth is, I wrote this book before becoming a mom. But you know what? I wouldn't change the story one bit. Penny's a little girl who "helps" her mom train for a marathon. Her mom becomes that role model I believe is so important for young kids to have if they're going to grow up being fit, too. And, by books end, Penny is running in a fun run with her mommy. My twins were three before I included this book in their personal library and I didn't bother explaining that mommy wrote the book (even if they did understand, would they care?) and I'm delighted to say that I don't ever have to pick the story out for them--they choose it on their own (thank goodness or my dreams of making it as a writer would be crushed).

Those are our favorite children's fitness books. You have any to share, too?

Two Tidbits

Physical Activity Declines Over Preschool Years. A New Zealand study has determined that children's daily physical activity levels declined between the ages of 3 and 5, while their time spent in front of the television or in other sedentary activities held steady.

Lead researcher Dr. Rachael Taylor, of the University of Otago in New Zealand, points out that because there has been little research on levels of children's physical activity, it's not possible to know whether this is a normal developmental pattern. However, she also points out -- rightfully -- that young children typically love to be active...so this is the time to foster that!

To read more, click here.

Being Outdoors Lowers Risk of Nearsightedness. Here's one more reason to send the children outside everyday: A study published in this month's issue of the journal Optometry and Vision Science reviewed several large studies examining nearsightedness, or myopia, in large populations. The studies agreed that the risk of myopia drops in children who spend more time outdoors. A child's chances of becoming myopic if he or she has two myopic biological parents are about 6 in 10 for children who spend zero to five hours a week in outdoor activity. But the risk drops to two in 10 when outdoor activity exceeds 14 hours a week.

The researchers aren't sure why being outdoors lowers the risk of nearsightedness. It's possible it's due to more time spent in the sunlight, or to more time spent on distance viewing. But the reason hardly matters, does it? Let's just send the children outside!

Getting with the Program

Recently, I was approached by a toy company known for its electronic products. They have a new game coming out that promotes physical activity for preschoolers, and they wanted to know if I'd be interested in consulting for them. So of course they also wanted to know how I felt about electronic toys and games.

My answer? That I am "of a certain age" and am still in the process of accepting the fact that we can't seem to just let the kids out the door to play anymore. It's a brand new world -- one in which kids and electronics go hand-in-hand (pun intended) -- and I'm working to get with the program.

This is indeed a challenging issue for me. My last post was about reconnecting children with nature (it's not the only post I've written on the theme), and in October I blogged about the silliness of a solar-powered, interactive playground system that took three years to create, versus the simplicity of children climbing trees.

I faced a similar issue when asked to consult for a new Canadian television program that would promote physical activity for preschoolers. While not generally in favor of screen time for children, if it meant children would be more physically active, could I really object to it? And if the program were going to be created anyway, didn't I want to make sure it was done in the best possible way? By the same token, if children are going to use electronic devices (and they are, evidently), isn't it best to ensure the devices promote movement and that they do so in developmentally appropriate ways?

Electronically-generated physical activity is the subject of an article this week in The Free Lance-Star, and of an interview I conducted with physical education specialist Steve Sanders, now playing on NAEYC Radio. "Exergaming" is the word used to describe video games that get kids moving.

Seems what it all comes down to is the same thing I promote in so much of my work: balance. I told the people from the toy company that my stance is that, if it's pouring out or under 20-below, if the children are going to turn to videos (or TV programs), they should be ones that promote physical activity. Otherwise, I wanted them outside running around and climbing trees! I was pleased to hear them agree.