Guidlines for Physical Activity for Children

Shape Up American Because of the importance of physical activity for the prevention of obesity in children and youth, we are pleased to announce an important new set of physical activity guidelines. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) has issued updated guidelines for physical activity for children 5 to 12 years of age. The new NASPE guidelines state:

Children should accumulate at least 60 minutes, and up to several hours, of age appropriate physical activity on all, or most days of the week.[Note that children do not exercise continuously for long periods as adults do. It is perfectly OK for children to engage in a number of shorter bursts of activity that alternate with short periods of rest.]
Children should participate in several bouts of physical activity lasting 15 minutes or more each day.
Children should participate each day in a variety of age-appropriate physical activities designed to achieve optimal health, wellness, fitness and performance benefits. [Note that a qualified physical education teacher can help identify such activities for your child.]
Extended periods (periods of two hours or more) of inactivity are discouraged for children, especially during the daytime hours.

The NASPE guidelines are a call to action for parents - to be "active role models" and to be vigilant about insuring their child is getting plenty of activity both inside and outside of school. A particularly important time for physical activity for children is between 3 and 6 PM. Parents whose work schedules or other demands do not permit them to supervise their child's activity during this period may want to team up with other families or friends in order to provide daily opportunities for safe, supervised play. It does indeed take a village to raise a child.

You may not have fond memories of physical education classes from your own youth. Perhaps your teacher let the children pick teams and you were always picked last. Perhaps you were frustrated or embarrassed because only the best athletes were praised. You can help insure your child receives a high quality physical education and help your child truly enjoy physical activity. The NASPE guidelines offer parents some information they can use to evaluate their child's physical education experience. According to NASPE, physical education teachers should:

Expose youngsters to a wide variety of physical activities
Teach physical skills to help maintain lifetime health and fitness
Encourage self-monitoring so youngsters can see how active they are and set their own goals
Individualize the intensity of activities to fit the child
Focus feedback on "doing your best" rather than on some pre-set goal
Be active role models

To order a copy of the NASPE guidelines, call 1-800-

321-0789 ($16) and ask for stock number 304-10276.