Health and Fitness

Physical activity is very important to our early childhood education students for many reasons. Encouraging a child to become physically active, will help develop and build their gross motor skills (running, jumping, kicking, throwing, catching), small motor skills (art, sidewalk chalk, sand play, cooking), physical development, mental development (preschoolers love dramatic play), and social development (taking turns, sharing, group pretend play). Preschoolers child development; Developmental Milestones, by Vincent Iannelli, M.D> June 14, 2006 (http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/growthdevelopment/a/child_dev_5.htm?p=1)


Children, who are not physically active, run a much greater risk of becoming obese and developing type two diabetes. As most parents, caregivers and adults are aware, children who are overweight are more likely to be picked on, (ridiculed and made fun of) at school, than children who are within the normal limits, thus decreasing their self-esteem.


As adults we should encourage children to be physically fit, by teaching them new games, and introducing them to new activities. Some of the “get up and go” activities could include; Baseball (America’s Favorite Past-time!), Jump rope, and my all time favorite; Hop Scotch! A good fine motor skill is always; Sand Play. Children love playing in sand, using the shovel, taking the little cars and riding through the sand. This is definitely a hit among the “little people.”

It’s relatively simple; good health habits now (early childhood) which includes being physically fit and maintaining a healthy diet, will ensure a much healthier, and longer life as an adult, not to mention these important steps will also help the child academically now. Children who are not hungry and sick, can and will learn better than children who are sick, hungry and undernourished.
According to the CDC, “Our nation’s young people are, in large measure, inactive, unfit, and increasingly overweight. In the long run, this physical inactivity threatens to reverse the decades-long progress we have made in reducing death from cardiovascular diseases and to devastate our national health care budget. In the short run, physical inactivity has contributed to an unprecedented epidemic of childhood obesity that is currently plaguing the United States.” http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/physicalactivity/promoting_health/

Why is Physical Fitness So Important In Young Children?

· Physical exercise keeps away obesity in children
· Builds muscular strength and mighty bones
· Helps in overall growth, development and strength
· Helps them perform better in school and studies
· Defends diseases like type 2 diabetes and controls cholesterol
(http://www.allforkidsindia.com/allforkids/Resources/Exercise.aspx)

Some Developmental Skills By Age 4 Include:



Hand-Eye Coordination

Language

Physical

Social & Emotional

Mathematical

Creative Arts

Pretend Play

Music

Thinking/Problem Solving

(http://www.nickjr.com/parenting/ages_and_stages/4/age_4_profile.jhtml)

Children develop skills in five main areas of development:

1. Cognitive Development: This is the child's ability to learn and solve problems. For example, this includes a two-month-old baby learning to explore the environment with hands or eyes or a five-year-old learning how to do simple math problems.
2. Social and Emotional Development: This is the child's ability to interact with others, including helping themselves and self-control. Examples of this type of development would include: a six-week-old baby smiling, a ten-month-old baby waving bye-bye, or a five-year-old boy knowing how to take turns in games at school.

3. Speech and Language Development: This is the child's ability to both understand and use language. For example, this includes a 12-month-old baby saying his first words, two-year-old naming parts of her body, or a five-year-old learning to say "feet" instead of "foots".
4. Fine Motor Skill Development: This is the child's ability to use small muscles, specifically their hands and fingers, to pick up small objects, hold a spoon, turn pages in a book, or use a crayon to draw.
5. Gross Motor Skill Development: This is the child's ability to use large muscles. For example, a six-month-old baby learns how to sit up with some support, a 12-month-old baby learns to pull up to a stand holding onto furniture, and a five-year-old learns to skip.

(http://www.howkidsdevelop.com/developSkills.html)


References:
http://www.nickjr.com/parenting/ages_and_stages/4/age_4_profile.jhtml

http://www.howkidsdevelop.com/developSkills.html

(http://www.allforkidsindia.com/allforkids/Resources/Exercise.aspx)

http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/physicalactivity/promoting_health/