PHYSICAL FITNESS

Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is important to young children’s health and well being. Being involved
in physical activities will help to improve/reduce the risk of many chronic diseases.
Children need physical activity to balance the food they consume daily. (Robertson, 2010, p. 265) Children at this age are developing motor, cognitive, and social skills. Physical
fitness is important to the development of these skills in young children. They develop
gross motor or locomotor skills which involve moving the body from one place to
another in their early years. These activities include, walking, running, jumping, hopping,
skipping, and sliding. They also learn the use of manipulation skills, which is being able
to move objects with hands or feet. Catch, roll, throw, kick, dribble, strike, or bat is
examples of manipulative skills. Physical activities such as playing ball, jumping rope,
and etc builds endurance, flexibility, and strength in children. (Robertson 2010, p.267)
Basic competency of these skills is needed for the mastery of sports, games, and lifetime
physical activities. For example; a child who can catch is likely to succeed in sports
where catching is essential once he masters it. Physical activities are used to help children
learn cognitive skills such as literacy and math concepts. Reading books, discussing
them, and then acting then out is an example of using physical activity to learn literacy.
Giving each child a number and calling out an action to perform to whoever has that
number is a form of using physical activity to enhance math concepts. Social skills are
important in the early years. Patterns of social and physical activities are developed in
childhood and tend to last throughout adulthood. Young children’s social skills are
enhanced when they partner with another as in playing ball; one throws and one catch
and playing rope; two turn and one jump. Socialization occurs when physical activity
depends on interaction between two or more people.

Without physical activity children could become obese and run the risk for
cardiovascular issues. (Goodway, Robinson, 2006) Obese children are targets for social
discrimination which can cause low self-esteem for a child. This could hinder a child’s academic achievement and carry on into adulthood. Other unhealthy conditions that children can contract are asthma, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes.

Adults can help children develop good fitness habits by limiting their time in front
of television, computers, and video games. They can encourage them to do fun activities that involves moving. They can be a positive example by being active themselves and
make physical activity a part of their daily routine. Adults can make physical activities
fun. Putting on a musical video where children can interact by moving, dancing or
exercise to use gross motor skills for physical activity is a great idea. My children love it
when I sing and clap, walk, walk, walk all around. Walk, walk, walk all around. Walk,
walk, walk all around, walk until you drop, drop, drop. Then I repeat, using fly, swim,
hop, skip, jump, run, crawl, and etc each round. Playing baseball or basketball is an
example of manipulative games that children can use for physical activity. They use their
hands and feet to manipulate a ball. They do this by hitting, kicking, batting, throwing,
and catching.

One quote that I found that captures my philosophy about fostering children’s
health and development comes from the MY Pyramid for Kids tagline. It reads: “Eat
Right. Exercise. Have Fun.” When children eat nutritionally they have healthy bodies.
Healthy bodies give them a sound mind and they become academic achievers. Exercising
gives balance to the foods that they take in and builds strong bones and muscles. What
children do best is play. When children have fun they tend to accomplish more. They are
more willing to adapt to situations when it is a fun experience for them.

A pilot study was done in Canada in a “healthy buddy” program. Older children
mentored younger children. They taught them 3 areas of healthy living including
physical activity. It had positive results for both sets of children. The older children had
loss weight and both had gained knowledge about healthy living. Robertson (2010, p.263)

Ohio State University has implemented project skip (Successful Kinesthetic Instruction
for Preschoolers). In the assessment of Project SKIP, it was found and witnessed that
perceived physical competence and the motor skills had improved. Proving that physical
activity infused into early childhood classrooms is important to motor skills development
of children at risk for developmental delays and/or educational failure. (Goodway,
Robinson, 2006)

Physical activities have many benefits. It strengthens bones, decreases blood
pressure, reduces stress and anxiety, increase self esteem, and helps with weight
management. Physical activities enhance skills children will later use such as directional
concepts, eye hand coordination, cognitive concepts, and simple household
chores. (Schilling, & McOmber, 2006, May)


References

Goodway, J. D., & Robinson, L. E. (2005, March) SKIPing towards an active
start: Promoting Physical activity in Young Children on the Web.
Retrieved from: http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200605/GoodwayBTJ.pdf

Robertson, Cathie (2010). Safety, Nutrition, and Health in Early Education, 4th Ed. Wadworth Centgage Learning. USA

Schilling, T, & McOmber, K. A. (2006, May) Tots in Action on and Beyond the playground. Beyond the Journal: Young children on the Web.
Retrieved from: The Walden library: Http://proquest.uml.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdweb?did=1038789361&sis=1&Fmt=48Clientld=70192&RQT=309&vname=PQD