Every person knows that participating in physical activity is highly important in order for the person to have a healthy life. Experts agree that a person should start exercising from childhood and do not stop until he or she is too old to do so. Later in life even a simple walk will be an excellent exercise. However, when a person is young a parent needs to make sure that his or her child is physically active. A child who exercises will have less chance of suffering from various diseases and will have better strength, bone density, healthy joints and muscles, among other things.
Exercise is also important for the mood of the child and it is know that it affects its sleep. Even though all of these facts are known, there are over 50% of people in the United States who do not exercise. Scary stats
Nowadays, young kids and teenagers are getting less and less physical activity. According to the experts, children aged between 2 and 19 are not getting enough exercise that will allow them to have a normal and healthy life. According to certain data, an average kid spends more than 5 hours every day in front of a TV, computer or some other media. Teenagers spend even more hours on media driven sedentary activities. Every third child in the United States is obese.
How much physical activity does a child need?
According to the experts, every child needs to exercise at least for one hour every day. It is not important what the physical activity is as long as it contains three important parts like strength, flexibility and endurance.
Exercise for ages 2-3
Children of this age are starting to develop certain motor skills like running and throwing. In addition to this, children of this age have a lot of energy. Some of the best exercises for this age are tag, leap frog and usage of age appropriate toys.Exercise for ages 4-5
A child of this age has pretty good motor skills and therefore there are a lot more options for exercise. Experts agree that a child of this age can exercise for 2 hours. However, parents need to know that a break between the hours is important. Since children should work on their balance and hand-eye coordination, some of the best exercises are catch and gymnastics. Learning to swim or ride a bike is also an option.
Exercises for ages 6-12
At this age, a child should have the groundwork for the exercises laid out. Participating in organized sports team starts at this age. At this point, one hour of exercises is the minimum.
Exercises for ages 13-18
Every expert agrees that this age is the most important for the child to keep up daily physical activity. At this stage, the parents should let the child choose the activity he or she prefers the most.
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