Movement is life. Our bodies need it and depend on it. Yet as a nation, our physical activity levels are dangerously low and our sedentary behaviours are frighteningly high. And it is affecting our kids’ well-being and livelihoods.
Our statistics are shocking. A staggering two thirds of Australian children do not meet the daily physical guidelines with less than one third meeting the sedentary guidelines of no more than 2 hours screen time per day. As a nation, the cost of physical inactivity is well over $13 billion per year and climbing. (Bluearth)
It needs to change.
As childcare educators, we need to be advocates of healthy and active lifestyles. Incorporating physical activity in our education programs is as vital and literacy and numeracy. Without it, little minds are not firing at full capacity, as their bodies are not strong, fit and healthy. The good news is there are plenty of government and private resources out there to assist families and educators in changing the tide on physical activity.
Bluearth are a national health promotion charity on a mission to change the health of all Australians – starting with our kids. Their aim is to instill a positive outlook towards physical activity and create a generational change in Australian families. They have a clear and easy-to-understand Physical and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for children from birth through to adulthood.
It all starts with one child at a time. If we as educators can create a positive outlook towards exercise and healthy living in the children we care for, then we are making a positive impact on the lives of our future generations. It is a lesson children need to learn at an early age, and it is one they will take with them through life.