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Fitness guidelines given for ‘early years’

Screen time and E world making it tougher to kids to stay healthy
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The School Yard

See Johnny play on his iPad while Billy watches a movie on his laptop.

See their dog Spot, run, alone – because the kids don’t feel like chasing him.

In an attempt to counter the growing amount time kids spend in front of a screen, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology wants children, toddlers in particular, to move more and sit less, and this past week released what it says are the first guidelines for the “early years.”

Local recreation leaders know about the challenge of trying to balance the allure of cyberspace with the physical activity needed for kids to grow up healthy.

One of the complications, though, is that computers now are following the kids outside – smart phones and iPods. Eight years ago, parents were being warned to keep their kids’ computers in a visible part of the house, said Tony Cotroneo, Maple Ridge’s recreation manager for youth and neighbourhood services.

“There’s clearly an effect with screen time because screen time is so mobile now.

“They’re stopping an activity to check their texts. There’s such an addiction – to that instant messaging.”

Somehow, though, kids seem to be finding time to stay both wired and active.

Drop-in sessions at the youth centre are full most nights of the week, with kids even paying the small charge on skateboard nights, while enrolment in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows in organized outdoor winter sports such as soccer is virtually the same in 2011 – at 7,700 children – compared to three years ago.

“We’re seeing an increase in activity in children, but we’re also seeing an increase in screen time,” added Wendy McCormick, recreation director with the district.

A parks and leisure services survey from 2011 shows 84 per cent of school-aged children spent daily time in front of the computer or TV screen, up by two per cent from three years ago.

The same survey showed that the average amount of exercise was about a half hour, five days of the week, in all types of activity – walking, cycling, swimming or skating.

Cotroneo says he can’t say from his own observations if kids are becoming more unhealthy, but data shows that.

“Generally, kids are eating unhealthier.”

A major tactic to keeping kids healthy is to offer them a chance just to do what they’ve always done: play outside.

The SchoolYard, the skateboard park at Thomas Haney secondary, allows that because kids of any age can show up at any time and play around on their bikes, rollerblades and skate boards.

“It’s about introducing people to activity in a non-competitive atmosphere,” he says.

The beauty of those facilities is that kids often get there by using the same rollerblades, skateboard or bike they’ll use at the facility.

According to the guidelines announced (Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years), kids between one and four years old should get three hours of activity a day. They just have to be moving.

By age five, kids should have an hour a day of energetic activity, such as riding bikes or hopping and skipping.

Sue Wheeler, parks and leisure services director of community services, confirms, “there’s an appetite for screen time. So that’s a challenge.’

But there’s also more awareness of that compared to 10 years ago.

The department’s range of outdoor parks are one way of doing that.

Drop in programs for all levels at the Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge recreation centres encourage kids of all skill levels to show up and play at their own pace. A priority is after-school programs.

“Our research has shown that’s a kind of critical time to get kids active.”

Education, such as through the B.C. Healthy Community Initiative, also helps raise awareness of the importance for fitness and health, while the neighbourhood school garden program, now in 10 local schools, is teaching kids firsthand about nutrition and health eating.

“The goal is to keep expanding that.”

Sheena Sharp, at the Family Education and Support Centre, says physical activity through free play, songs and games is encouraged in all of the programs at the centre, geared to supporting parents of young children.

She can’t say if kids are showing up more unhealthy or overweight than a decade ago. “It’s something I haven’t noticed.”

They also encourage parents to be active to set an example. Give kids the chance and “they’ll naturally be active through play.

“I think it lays the ground for them to be active for life if they have the opportunity when they’re young.”