The Center for Disease Control (CDC) published "Guidelines for School and Community Programs" more than five years ago to encourage children and teens to be physically active. The goal was to help them develop exercise and fitness habits that they would keep for life.
If you, as a parent, understand and follow these rules, you can work with your school system and community centres and programmes, like the YMCA and the Boy Scouts, to encourage and even help develop physical activity and exercise programmes that support your goals.
If your child is obese, slightly overweight, or just at risk of falling into the big, dark hole of video games, you need to get them off the couch, away from the computer or video game console, and out into the fresh air to get some exercise.
Dieting doesn't work as well without exercise.
Your child may not want to do physical activities at first, but in the long run, they will find that exercise makes them feel better, sleep better, and do better in school.
Check out some of the CDC's guidelines and look for ways to get your child to exercise more or to get YOU more involved in making these kinds of programmes happen in your schools and community.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourages schools and community groups to make rules and policies that encourage physical activity that is fun and good for all ages. This way, exercise can become a lifelong habit.
Schools MUST require physical education credits and offer detailed health education and courses to teach kids how to eat well and exercise safely.
Schools will find and put into place programmes for physical education and exercise that encourage people to be active and give them fun ways to do so. Dance, gymnastics, sports, and other activities like these should be available with a coach to keep kids from getting hurt. Not every activity should be a race!
Activities should build on each other, getting harder and more complicated as the child gets older. This will help the child reach their full physical potential.
At the very least, people should meet the National Physical Fitness Standards.
Physical activities, sports, and exercise equipment should have money, supervision, and guidance from both schools and community groups.
All of the kids in the community and school system should be able to find something they like among these activities and pieces of equipment.
Children of all ages and skill levels should be able to take part in activities at school and in the community.
Children should know about these programmes by seeing ads and hearing about them. The programmes should be appealing and fun for the age group and type of children who are expected to take part.
Students should learn in health education classes how to promote and improve healthy eating and exercise plans. These programmes should teach kids the right way to think so that they all WANT to live a healthy life.
Programs should stress moderation in all things so that kids see exercise as something they will do every day, along with other things they like to do, like playing computer or video games, watching TV or movies, etc.
All coaches, teachers, health education staff, and recreation directors should have the right training to run and promote these physical education and exercise programmes and make sure that the kids under their care can safely take part in them.
It is very important to have safe, supervised access to facilities and equipment!
Unstructured play time is important at school and after school. Tools and equipment like balls, bats, jump ropes, and gymnastics equipment can help kids make up their own games.
Parents and teachers should get together to talk about what kinds of exercise and physical education programmes are available at school and in the community.
Parents should be encouraged to exercise and do other physical activities, and they should be encouraged to do these things with their kids when it's appropriate. They should also be encouraged to be role models for their kids by exercising and doing other physical activities at family events, at work, in the park, etc.
All programmes in schools and communities should be evaluated every so often.
This evaluation should be thorough enough to make sure that the children in the community are getting what they need.
Does each child have more than one choice and chance to exercise and learn about health in more than one place?
Now that you know what the CDC recommends, take a look at your own school system and the sports and physical activities that are offered outside of school and in your community.
If your community isn't doing as well as it could be in these programmes, get involved. You can get groups like the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA to come to your town if you go to and speak at a town board meeting.
You can also talk to your school board and PTA or PTO about what's wrong with your health and physical education programmes and how your school system might be able to make them better.
With help from the community and school system, it will be much easier for you to help your child lose weight or get fit.
This help and support is priceless for your child who is overweight, obese, or not very active.
