1 Manageable and accessible daily physical activity for children

During the previous weeks of the course, you have learned many reasons why it is important to get children physically active, as well as some of the ways that children’s physical growth and development can be promoted. In the following activity you will hear from two practitioners discussing the importance of children being physically active to promote children’s physical health.

Activity 1

Watch Video 2 in which you will hear from Karen and Nicola. They work in a nursery in an area of high deprivation and explain some of the ways they encourage the children they work with to be physically active. As you watch the video, make a note of some of the ideas that Karen and Nicola highlight.

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 2

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Transcript: Video 2

NICOLA FARMER:

We do do quite a lot here, don't we, about physical activity and development for our children, especially with the links to the health benefits for them.

KAREN NASH:

It has lots of health opportunities and benefits for children being physically active, I think, promoting healthy bones and muscle development.

NICOLA FARMER:

Yes. Concentration levels as well.

KAREN NASH:

With sleeping habits.

NICOLA FARMER:

That's right. Yes, it does, doesn't it?

[TEXT ON SCREEN: 66% of people in Solihull overweight or obese. 17% of Solihull children obese in Year 6. 23% of regeneration area children obese in year 6.]

NICOLA FARMER:

And also, obviously, with the area that we're in, there can be high obesity levels, and the government's strategy now at the moment is to try and lower those levels. So within our area, we need to be careful of that.

KAREN NASH:

Yeah. We've done lots of work, haven't we, to support childhood obesity plan.

NICOLA FARMER:

Yeah, promoting the physical activity at all times, getting your children moving at all times, and lots of different ways you can do that. It also links into the mental health, doesn't it, being physically active as well.

KAREN NASH:

In children's well-being.

NICOLA FARMER:

And obviously, we found, didn't we, we just had a new build on site with a new school. And we had our outdoor area taken away from us. And we had to have a temporary outdoor garden. That was a little bit smaller than what we were used to, which was quite difficult for staff and children.

KAREN NASH:

Impacted on the children's behaviour, well, that's what we think contributed to it, having less space to run around freely, using all their gross motor skills. And just their concentration levels when they came back.

NICOLA FARMER:

They went down, didn't they?

KAREN NASH:

Yeah. We noticed that they didn't stay on task, did they, doing focused activities.

NICOLA FARMER:

No, not as much.

KAREN NASH:

We're not sure. We can't say for certain that it is from our policies and practices that helped promote everything that we do here in the nursery with the children. But I think it all contributes to children being physically active and having healthy lifestyles.

NICOLA FARMER:

And having that outdoor play and that space to run around is really important, isn't it?

KAREN NASH:

So we've done lots of work, really, with parents, haven't we, to promote children's physical development within the nursery and at home.

NICOLA FARMER:

Yes. And it's really important to build those positive relationships with parents because they're the first educators, aren't they?

KAREN NASH:

Yeah. They've got to gain that trust, haven't they, and have that relationship there with us before they'll trust us to look after and care for their children really.

NICOLA FARMER:

Definitely, that's the most important thing, isn't it, that you build those, that confidence.

End transcript: Video 2

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Video 2

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Discussion

Supporting children’s physical development and being physically active is important not only for their physical health but also for their mental health.

However, as already discussed, each child is unique, therefore, it’s important to take into consideration the individual child and their family situation. For example, in Week 3, it was pointed out that children with Down syndrome often experience delays in their milestones.

There are other factors that can impact how much physical activity children take and how they develop, some relating to health issues that you will look at later this week. Whatever the individual needs of the child are, ways to promote physical activity need to be realistic, so that it becomes part of an enjoyable daily routine for children and their families.

Through embedding manageable and accessible daily physical activity for children, opportunities to be active may become more sustainable. It is also important that practitioners are aware of barriers that may prevent children and their families from being physically active. It is vitally important to work with parents to achieve this goal.