Resources for Parents
How much physical activity do children need?
Children are engaging in less physical activity and this has become a major health concern. The current school day physical activity guideline set forth by the Centers for Disease Control is 60 minutes (1 hour) or more per day. This includes aerobic activities as well as bone and muscle strengthening. Recent findings have also put forth a recommendation for preschoolers of 3 hours per day, or approximately 15 min/hour (Pate et al. 2015)
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What are the health benefits of staying active?
What other factors contribute to my child's physical activity?
Children’s physical activity is related to their motor skills, perceived motor competence and weight status.
Motor Skills: A motor skill is a function that involves the precise movement of muscles with the intent to perform a specific act.
Fine Motor Skills involve smaller movements that involve the hands and fingers.
Gross Motor Skills involve larger movements and muscles such as the legs, arms, etc.
Children between the ages of 3-6 aim to develop fundamental motor skills that can be characterized into two broad categories. Locomotor skills are ones that involved moving the body through space such as running, sliding, hopping or jumping. Object Control skills entail using the hands and feet to manipulate and/or project objects such as throwing, catching, kicking, two- handed strike and dribbling (Haywood & Getchell 2009).
Perceived Motor Competence: Perceived motor competence refers to how an individual thinks about their ability to perform motor skills.
How can I measure how much physical activity I get?