The teaching profession plays a fundamental role in educating children. Some of which include physical activity Teachers engage in many roles in student’s learning, some of which are more challenging and important than others and all which contribute to a child’s development. The process of childhood development is dynamic, recognised by various fields including the influential society, inherited characteristics through genetics, and the psychological behaviour of the child. These fields all play their own roles in directly affecting the process of child development. “A child’s developmental journey is guided by three factors which include nature, nurture and the child’s own activity” McDevitt & Ormrod (2010, p. 4). Physical, cognitive and social-emotional development, also inter-relate to the overall developmental process of a child, adding that children in middle childhood (6-10 years), must be introduced to the importance of physical development. Understanding appropriate developmental physical activity during middle childhood begins with examining the tasks and challenges of this age group. “Physical activity is a broad term meaning any physical movement that uses up energy” (What Is Physical Activity,” 2009). An exceptionally central challenge relating directly to middle childhood is the focus of physical activity in relation to childhood obesity and the lack of physical activity by children in middle childhood. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009), around 17% of Australian children are either overweight or obese. It is for this reason alone, that solutions to this problem need to be discovered and put into action quickly, however, there is a continuous debate of what techniques to use to tackle this iss... ... middle of paper ... ...ved from http://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/education/health_risks_for_overweight_children/index.html - Elliott, E., Sanders, S. (2002). Children and Physical Activity: The Importance of Movement and Physical Activity. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/earlychildhood/articles/physical.html - Ginsburg, K, R. (2007). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2697 - Winter, S. M., (2009) Childhood Education: Childhood obesity in the testing era: What teachers and schools can do. Retrieved from http://www.thefreelibrary.com - Drummond, C. E., (2010) Journal of Student Wellbeing,. 4(2), 43–54: Using nutrition education and cooking classes in primary schools to encourage healthy eating. Retrieved from http://www.ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php.JSW/article/viewFile/724/549
It helps babies and young children improve their balance and flexibility, improve their bone strength, heart and lung capacity. Regular physical activity and exercise and engagements is very important for a healthy brain development in babies and young children. Physical activity and movement can help stimulate the brain growth and facilitate key connections for learning. Babies would develop muscle tone over time so they could begin to crawl. Exercise and physical activity improves babies and young children’s coordination, catching and throwing skills, enjoyment, motivation and social skills. It increases energy boosts and helps stop stress and anxiety which affects positively on self esteem. Activities such as: a climbing frame, balls to roll/throw, moving to music are good to help children’s physical development. In my setting there are many activities that are planned to increase opportunities for children to improve their physical
... physical education (J. Sproule, Ed.). Retrieved February 25, 2014, from Sage Journal website: http://epe.sagepub.com/content/11/3/257.short#cited-by
Exercise, food, technology, and money all play a role in causing childhood obesity. Lack of exercise among adolescents has been proven to be the leading cause of childhood obesity. According to a May 2012 Institute of Medicine report, only half of America’s children and one in four teens get enough activity to meet current guidelines (Doheny and Noonman 1). The recommendations call for children to participate in at least 60 minutes of vigorous to moderate physical activity every day (Hendrick 1). “Only four percent of elementary schools, eight percent of middle schools, and two percent of high schools provide daily physical ...
Lastly, the textbook states that “A high-quality physical-education program parallels whole-child education. While the main focus is on physical development (psychomotor), it also addresses the knowledge (cognitive) and social (affective) aspects of the child”
other hand, obesity accounts for about 13 percent of children in the United States, which is why physical education programs should be one of the last things to go. They also help students release the stress they have built up through out the day and teach them the ...
Obesity in children across America has become an increasing public health concern. Obesity has been identified as an epidemic that is plaguing our children in the United States. In some countries around the world children are dying of starvation everyday. How can this happen when here in America the opposite is a major problem? This is not to say that in America there are no hungry or starving children. It has been proven that our children suffer from obesity, and “children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are five times as likely as normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults” (“Hope”). Obesity not only can cause a child to become more prone to having health problems down the road, but it can also make them feel insecure about themselves. There needs to be action taken in schools as well as in homes to help prevent this growing epidemic.
Ginsburg, K. R. (2006). "The Species of the World. " The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent–Child Bonds. USA: American Academy of Pediatrics.
Through the performance of physical activity in children there is a continued positive effect on the motor development and further refinement of actions. During this developmental stage, it ...
In the 21st century childhood obesity is regarded as one of the most serious public health challenges faced by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2013). Figures recorded by the National Child Measurement programme for the 2011/12 period showed children aged 10-11, of which 14.7% were overweight and a further 19.2% figure were classed as obese. Statistics from the same report also indicate boys in the same age group are more likely to be obese with a figure of 20.7% compared to a 17.7% figure for girls. These figures are a large cause for concern for both these children and on a wider scale, society. Obesity is caused by a number of factors that can range from the not so obvious of social class, to the clear lack of exercise and poor diet. Obese or overweight children are more likely to carry this status into adulthood and put themselves at an increased risk of developing associated health problems such as raised cholesterol, high blood pressure and even premature mortality (Public Health England, 2013). Obesity is defined as the over consumption of calories in relation to little physical activity, this means calories consumed are not being burnt but turned into fat cells (NHS, 2012).
Being physically active helps children maintain that healthy lifestyle. According to the textbook “ Healthy, safety and nutrition for the young Child”, good health is a balance of mental,emotional,physical, spiritual elements all these work together to form a strong healthy person. Young children are naturally active and will move , kick, throw and play on their own in nearly any environment. However, children today are faced with a lot of challenges that reduce their natural aptitude toward movement and physical activity such as 1- increase use of technology as a form of sedentarity activity, leaving less time for movement based activities. 2- Classroom that focus on mental activity in order to prepare children to meet curriculum requirements and standardized test score levels later in their education.
Whitman, Nate. "Physical Activity in Schools Is Essential to Reversing Childhood Obesity." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
activities of the past need to come to an end. He believes that these seven childhood pastimes should be placed into the Hall of Shame. He explains how these activities fail to promote the current physical educational goals set for today’s school children. He admits that the activities that are built into our curriculum should include elements of fun, but should always encourage and healthy lifestyle and never pose potential harm to the students.
Physical activity enhances children’s quantitative development within middle childhood, supporting growth toward healthy strong people, physically and psychology. Middle childhood is documented as being between the ages of six to ten years old. A lack of physical activity affects children across all areas of development; it is not restricted within the domain of physical development. Discussed within are the expectations of motor development within middle childhood, the benefits of physical activity and the consequences of prolonged inactivity. Along with how a student’s physical development facilitates or restricts development in other areas and how the learning environment can accommodate and support the physical needs of students.
I want to investigate how schools and parents can work together to support healthy eating for young children. Many schools already have healthy eating initiatives in place, however, there is still a high percentage of children with obesity. I firmly believe that if schools and parents have a close partnership in promoting healthy eating young children will have consistency both in the school and home environment. Healthy eating is an area that I feel passionate about due to the effects poor nutrition can have on the child both in the short term and in the long term. During my second school placement, I witnessed a healthy eating initiative that was extremely successful both with the staff and the students. This has influenced my enthusiasm to promote healthy eating in the early years by including parents in order to combat the serious issue of childhood
Some activity clubs we provide include, dancing, running, jump roping, basketball and soccer clubs, just to name a few. These clubs encourage kids to stay active. Our PE program also sends out monthly newsletters to the parents that give them ways to help their child live a healthy lifestyle. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education states, “Regular physical activity improves functional status and limits disability during the middle and later adult years. Physical activity contributes to quality of life, psychological health, and the ability to meet physical work demands. Physical education can serve as a vehicle for helping students to develop the knowledge, attitudes, motor skills, behavioral skills, and confidence needed to adopt and maintain physically active lifestyles. The outcomes of a quality physical education program include the development of students’ physical competence, health-related fitness, self-esteem, and overall enjoyment of physical activity. These outcomes enable students to make informed decisions and choices about leading a physically active lifestyle. In early years children derive pleasure from movement sensations and experience challenge and joy as they sense a growing competence in their movement ability. Evidence suggests that the level of participation, the degree of skill, and the number of activities mastered as a child directly influences the extent to which children will continue to participate in physical activity as an