Get Outside and Play!

School is out soon and some of you may be wondering what activities you can do with your kids over the summer. The summer months are a great time to incorporate regular exercise into your children’s routine. Experts agree that participation in physical activity in childhood can carry on into adulthood and according to studies, one way youngsters can reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes and obesity is by participating in regular exercise.

High-intensity activities have proven to have great results. Some high-intensity physical activities include:

• Sprinting/Jogging
• Swimming
• Soccer
• Rollerblading

Get Excited About Exercise!

If you are short on creative ideas or want to stick with something fun and inexpensive, ParticipACTION has created an after school activity guide that is great for parents.

While it's recommended that kids get 60 minutes of exercise a day, that can be a lot for a child who hasn't been active, so start small by adding just 10 minutes of outdoor play.  Make it something fun and low key (e.g. frisbee) to get them excited and wanting to extend the time.

Get involved, make it a family past-time and go swimming together; parents need to be role models so it's important to remember that cutting back on watching television and other sedentary activities is just as important as becoming more active.

No matter your age, exercise can provide enormous benefits, by taking the time to get your kids interested in exercise now, you're giving them a gift that will keep them healthy and happy for the rest of their lives.

Resources from the SIRC Collection

1. Eisenmann J, Welk G, Ihmels M, Dollman J. Fatness, Fitness, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents. Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise [serial online]. 
2. Halvorson R. Sprints Improve CVD Risk Factors in Youth. IDEA Fitness Journal [serial online]. July 2011;8(7):19. 
3. Healthy Communities, Healthy Kids How Ophea's Living Schools are pointing the way to a healthier lifestyle for Canada's kids. Physical & Health Education Journal [serial online]. 
4. Ontario school forbids parents from driving their kids to school. Active Living [serial online]. March 2010;19(2):27. 
5. Patton I, McDougall J. Canada's Active Schools: A review of school-based physical activity interventions in Canada. Physical & Health Education Journal [serial online]. 
6. Steene-Johannessen J, Andersen S, Kolle E, Andersen L. Low Muscle Fitness Is Associated with Metabolic Risk in Youth. Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise [serial online].