Average Youth Spends Hours and Hours With Their TV
According to a University of Michigan study, children ages 6 to 11 spend about 28 hours a week in front of the television. Time Inc. Network online noted in a Nielsen study that the average 13 plus year child spends approximately 6 hours as week playing video games. Hours spent watching television and playing video games takes a toll on the physical and mental well-being of our children. Young ones need to move, to feel the breeze on their face as they ride a bicycle, roller blade, and run. Little ones like to move; we just need to nurture their love physical adventure.
Move Your Body
NHS Choices released guidelines saying children ages 5 to 18 need about 60 minutes of aerobic exercise every day. For the military BRAT, exercise is a regular part of the day. Children raised on our military bases and forts are tested every year against the President’s Fitness Award criteria. Everyone works hard and competes for their personal best. Why? Physical activity comes naturally to them because the adults in their lives set the example.
Military Children Move Like Their Parent
Children raised in a military family spent their childhood watching and emulating the physical training of our military service members. These children see the adults in their lives training every day to make their bodies and minds as sharp as they can be. Let’s we adults make a pact to show our children how to move. There are many movements we can use, keeping it simple and easy to start. As we progress, so will our children. And, we just might live a little longer in the end.
Move It. Move It.
Family Circle offered a few easy exercises for children and their parents.
Plank: Great for the abdominal muscles
Lay face down on the floor. Keeping your back straight and the abs tight, prop yourself on your elbows and forearms and hold for 1 minute.
Chair Squats: For your legs
Stand 6 inches in front of a chair with your arms perpendicular to your body. Then bend your legs, keeping your back straight, until your butt taps the chair. Hold, then stand again and repeat another 10 to 15 times.
Bent Knee Pushups: Build a strong chest and arms
Lay face down on the floor and place your palms flat on the floor next to your chest. Keeping your back flat and your abs tight, legs bent up at the knees, use your chest muscles and pretend to press your palms through the floor to lift yourself. Repeat 8 to 15 times.