Physical Fitness

Application Week Five

Jennifer McCarty

Physical fitness is very important for young children because it not only keeps them healthy, but it keeps their bones strong and helps them to burn off extra energy, as well as promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.
• Helps children to develop their motor skills.
• Helps children to stay healthy
• Helps promote healthy grow
• Helps them to burn off energy
• The children are always learning different life skills through play
At this young age, preschool and toddlers, they are learning motor skills such as walking, running and jumping. Engaging in activities such as throwing a ball back and forth, playing a game of tag, and having kids jump up and down to try and catch a ball can all help children develop their motor skills.
If children do not engage in physical activities, they can start to become overweight and not want to play with their friends. By becoming obese other kids around them could start to make fun of the child who is becoming obese, which can make the child depressed and not have very many friends. The child can become socially isolated and have very low self-esteem. Not only does obesity affect self-esteem, but it also affects a child’s health. The more weight a child puts on, the more if affects their organs, as well as their ability to be more physically active. More weight forces the heart to work harder, as well as the build-up of fat around the other organs. The more fat around organs the less those organs are able to work.
Adults can have a huge impact on helping a child to stay healthy and active. One way for an adult to help a child to stay healthy is to play a game with a child that involves running, such as a game of tag. Another way is to throw a ball back and forth, such as playing a game of catch. “All it takes to encourage an active start is a little time and imagination and a commitment to a healthy lifestyle.”(Goodway and Robinson http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200605/GoodwayBTJ.pdf). As long as adults can come up with different games and activities for a child to do, a child will remain active and have a healthy lifestyle.
Not only does a healthy lifestyle keep a child healthy, but it provides a child with a higher sense of themselves, as well as having higher self-esteem. A child also learns how to interact with their peers, as well as developing motor skills, such as running and jumping. Starting at an early age by encouraging a child to go outside and play will stay with a child as they become older. When that child grows up they will continue that healthy lifestyle well into adulthood. Being healthy will keep a child healthy as they are growing, and in the future will lessen their risk of becoming obese.
Goodway, Jacqueline D. and Leah E. Robinson 2006. Skipping towards an active start Promoting Physical Activity in Preschoolers. http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200605/GoodwayBTJ.pdf Retrieved on July 12, 2010.