EXERCISE

                                                       

                                                                            EXERCISE

Healthy exercise

If exercise is starting to take over a child's life it you need to think about whether there is a problem that you need to explore. Children and young people who over-exercise are more likely to be injured and have health problems rather than gaining benefits from the exercise. They may be overexercising because there are problems in their lives. Many young people with eating disorders also over-exercise. 

Tips for keeping children active

• Children should enjoy the physical activity.
• Children are more likely to be active if other people in their family lead active lives, so it is important for their health that you are also active.
• It is important to encourage older children, such as those in high school, to continue to stay active.
• Young children are not ready for competitive sport until they are at least 8 or 9, and sometimes older. 
• While young children are very interested in rules, they usually cannot follow rules until they are older. Walk, skip, cycle, use a scooter or run places instead of going in the car.
• Kick, throw, hit balls.
• Look for local playgrounds.
• Water activities can be fun, but need to be supervised.
• Dancing, gymnastics, callisthenics or martial arts are fun activities, at a beginning, non-competitive level.
• Many young children enjoy kinder gyms.
• Support your children's sport. Show you are interested. Help with transport to sport, and stay and watch.
• Encourage children to help you in the garden or to help walk the dog, if you have one.  

Exercising safely

• Always prepare for sport by stretching and warming up, and cooling down. Make sure that protective gear is always worn such as shin pads, knee pads, mouth guards or helmets. See the topic 
• Exercise should always stop if a child is in pain, feeling dizzy or faint, feels sick or very tired.
• It is best to avoid exercise, or only train very lightly, if the child is unwell, such as if the child has a cold or bronchitis.
• Most children with asthma will wheeze at least some of the time during vigorous exercise. Check with your doctor and make a plan about asthma management for exercise. Many children are able to exercise more comfortably and vigorously if they use a reliever medication about 15 minutes before exercise.