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Munch and Move Get Active Newsletter Snippets

Get active each day (Key message)

Snippets

• Getting active each day

• Why being active is important?

• How can you be active with your children?

• Rainy day activities

• Fundamental Movement Skills

• Tips for teaching children movement skills to young children

• Practicing movement skills at home

• Mastering the overhand throw

• Moving to music

• Babies need to be active too

• Babies and walking

Getting active each day

Being physically active is not just about going for a jog, exercising or playing a sport or doing an activity – it is about getting as much movement into our everyday lives as possible. This includes walking to and from local places, using the stairs instead of the lift, playing outdoors, gardening, doing household chores and generally being active in as many ways as possible!

Early Childhood (up to 5 years) is an important time for your child’s physical development. This is a period of rapid physical development when basic movement skills are developed (e.g. balancing, walking, running, jumping, throwing and catching).

Toddlers (1 to 3 years) and preschoolers (3 to 5 years) should be active every day for at least three hours, spread throughout the day. Children enjoy being active and especially love it when other family members join in! So make sure you allow time in your day to get active with your children.

Why being active is important?

Active children are more likely to be active adults, and enjoy better overall health.

Being active allows children to:

• grow and develop strong bones and muscles

• gain more confidence

• meet new friends

• develop new skills

• sleep better at night

• maintain a healthy weight

• reduce the risk of illness and disease

The benefits of active play go beyond the physical, and include development of social and language skills, as well as brain development.

How can you be active with your children?

Remember, being active means moving in as many ways as possible. Some ways to be active with your children include:

• walking to the shops, playground or child care service if possible

• bike riding together at the park or on a bike track

• enjoying water activities together

• getting children to help with active chores such as gardening or hanging out the washing

• playing games such as ‘duck, duck, goose’ or ‘bull rush’

• dancing to music

• getting off the bus one stop earlier and walking

• playing ball games at the park or in the backyard

• scheduling regular family time each week to be physically active

Be a good role model by being active with your children. Children like to move when they see their parents moving. Lead by example. It’s fun!

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Rainy day activities

Keeping kids active and occupied during wet days can be challenging. Here are some active indoor play ideas:

• build a cubby house with sheets, chairs or cardboard boxes

• play ‘hide and seek’

• play basket softball and see how many times you can throw a foam ball into a washing basket - keep increasing the distance to make it more challenging

• have a dance competition or disco at home

• make some play dough and enjoy being creative with it

• set a limit on the amount of time children spend in front of a screen (tv,

computer etc).

Fundamental Movement Skills:

There are 12 fundamental movement skills (FMS) that form the building blocks children need to enjoy participating in games and sports throughout their life.

The 12 fundamental movement skills are:

• Catching

• Running

• Leaping

• Kicking

• Hopping

• Striking

• Overarm throwing

• Bouncing

• Underarm rolling

• Side sliding

• Galloping

• Jumping

Children need to practice and develop these skills as they do not naturally learn them as part of their normal growth and development. Our service provides daily FMS experiences for all children. For toddlers and preschoolers, these are play-based experiences that include a warm-up, followed by a game (focussing on one or more FMS) and a cool-down.

To find out more about each of these skills, including information on how to perform each skill correctly, go the Healthy Kids website and click on the Munch and Move resources page healthykids..au. You can download all 12 skills and refer to them when you are playing skills-based games with your child.

Tips for teaching movement skills to young children

Some things to consider when helping your child to practise a movement skill:

• Join in as much as possible and play some games that your child suggests.

• Get to know the fundamental movement skills and what they look like so you can provide some simple and positive tips.

• Keep explanations brief – explain by doing rather than talking.

• Provide positive feedback so your child experiences success.

• Make it fun! Don’t spend all the time practising the skill – incorporate it into a game or activity that practises the skill.

• Don’t play games and activities for extended periods in hot conditions – children aren’t able to regulate heat as well as adults.

• Always seek sun protection when outside ie. slip, slap and slop – and avoid outdoor activities in unshaded areas between 11am and 3pm during Daylight Saving Time.

• Provide and encourage children to drink water before, during and after being active.

• If going out for a few hours, pack some fruit or healthy snack food to keep up energy levels.

• Be ready for minor accidents with a basic First Aid Kit.

These tips come from the ‘Family Activation Pack’ that was developed by the Central Coast Health Promotion Service. The ‘Pack’ has been designed for parents and carers of primary school aged children. It contains a range of quick, easy fun games that can be played at home or in the park. The games are based on the fundamental movement skills. If you have primary school-aged children, you may want to download the kit from: .au

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Mastering the overhand throw

Overhand throw

This is a great skill to learn as it helps with all kinds of games.

Look at the pictures. The main points are:

1. The throwing hand starts down behind you.

2. Stand side-on and point with your non–throwing hand to where you are throwing.

3. As you throw move your weight from the back foot to the front foot by stepping forward.

4. After you’ve thrown the ball let your hand follow through diagonally across your body.

TIP: Practise with rolled up grocery bags taped up to make soft balls - throw them as hard as you can at the wall.

This is just one of the 12 fundamental movement skills. To find out more about each of these skills, including information on how to perform each skill correctly, go the Healthy Kids website and click on the Munch and Move resources page healthykids..au You can download all 12 skills and refer to them when you are playing skills-based games with your child.

Practising movement skills at home

As a parent/carer, you are in a great position to provide a range of fun opportunities for your toddler or preschooler to further develop their fundamental movement skills.

Toddlers tend to be active in short, intense bursts followed by periods of rest. Preschool children (3 to 5 years) are able to play for longer periods of time. At this stage, they are becoming more coordinated and able to take part in a variety of activities. Remember, children develop at different rates and the main thing is participation and positive encouragement.

Some ideas for practising movement skills with your child at home:

✓ Practise walking, jumping and hopping by placing markers on the grass, or drawing a chalk line on the path to walk along, hop, leap and jump over.

✓ Practise throwing, catching, kicking and bouncing balls of different shapes and sizes (soft, large balls are best to start with). Don’t expect your child to be successful straight away.

✓ Practise hitting a large ball off a batting tee (or pool noodle in sand bucket) with a plastic bat (or another pool noodle).

✓ Practise kicking a ball along the ground - add in a target when kicking becomes too easy.

✓ Practise galloping – ask your child to be pretend to be a horse and place a skipping rope or cord around his/her waist to act as the reins. Pretend to be the rider and ask your child to gallop around like a horse.

There are lots more ideas on the Healthy Kids website – click on Munch and Move resources and then click on Fun ideas for getting active! healthykids..au

Moving to music

Children enjoy listening to and moving to music. It’s a great way to get active at home. Try playing a range of different music and encourage your child to move in different ways. Children’s music CDs and DVDs that include actions and fun themes are usually well liked by children. Join in and show children how much fun it can be.

The children at our service have really enjoyed listening to the Munch & Move music CD. The CD has 15 catchy tunes that promote healthy eating and physical activity. You can order a free CD or download each of the songs by visiting the Healthy Kids website, clicking on the Munch and Move Resources page and then clicking on Music. healthykids..au

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Babies need to be active too!

It is important that babies are regularly physically active from birth. Being physically active for babies means having daily opportunities to move around freely on their stomach or back within a safe space. It also includes practising movements such as reaching, grasping, pulling, pushing and playing with other people, objects or toys. Music and other sounds can aid brain development and promote activity. Remember to try a variety of settings, both indoor and outdoor.

‘Tummy time’ is very important for babies from birth to one year, as it allows them to strengthen their head, neck and trunk muscles and to develop spatial awareness and balance. From birth, babies should be placed on their tummy every day for short periods of supervised time, increasing with age and ability (10 seconds to 10 minutes).

Babies and walking

Babies should be encouraged to explore their environment to promote the use of all their muscles by moving, stretching and flexing. Babies should not spend long portions of the day strapped safely into a seat, swing or highchair. Nursery equipment such as walkers and ‘jolly jumpers’ are not recommended due to safety concerns and evidence that suggests they may hinder baby’s gross motor development.

Babies can practice walking by pushing a stable wheeled toy (eg block trolley) but should only use these for short periods so they can attempt to walk without support.

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Turn off the TV and computer and get active! (Key message)

Snippets

• Turn off the TV and computer and get active!

• Set limits on TV, computer and game consoles at home.

• Why limit screen time

• Screen-free activities

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Turn off the TV and computer and get active!

Time spent in front of television, watching DVDs or playing computers games is time away from being active. These activities keep children sitting for long periods and should be limited.

The national physical activity recommendations state that:

• children younger than 2 years of age should not spend any time watching television or using other electronic media.

• children 2-5 years of age, should spend less that one hour per day sitting and watching television and using other electronic media.

Screen-based activities for children under two years of age have not been shown to lead to any improvements in health, intelligence or language. Encourage your child to spend more time being active either inside or outside rather than in front of the box!

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Set limits on TV, computer and game consoles at home

The amount of time children (2-5 years) spend sitting, watching TV, movies or playing computer games needs to be limited to one hour per day.

Here are a few tips for setting limits on screen time at home:

✓ know what your children are watching and that it is suitable

✓ do not leave the television on all day

✓ keep mornings free from TV, or set house rules, such as no screen until breakfast has been eaten, teeth are brushed, child is dressed and ready to leave

✓ have meals together as a family and turn off the TV

✓ choose which programs children watch and when they can use the computer

✓ insist that children ask before they turn on the TV or computer

✓ keep TVs and computers out of children’s bedrooms

Remember to lead by example - turn the TV off and get busy in other ways

Why limit screen time

TV, DVDs, computers and laptops can be educational, however too much time in front of a screen can become a habit, and reduces the time children have to be active. There is also increasing evidence that too much sitting can be harmful and contribute to health problems.

Children who watch lots of TV, generally:

▪ have less time for other things like playing outside

▪ tend to eat more often and eat more ‘sometimes’ food and drink including soft drinks

▪ are at risk of becoming overweight

▪ do not eat as well as those who have dinner with the TV off

▪ find it more difficult to concentrate during the day, especially when they watch TV before childcare

▪ are at risk of being exposed to violent TV shows and lots of advertising for things they don’t necessarily understand, want or need.

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Screen-free activities

There are many activities that can be enjoyed, instead of watching TV, DVDs, or playing computer / console games. Remember small screen activities should be limited to no more than one hour per day. Here are some screen free activities for young children:

✓ listen or dance to music

✓ draw a picture or create an artwork

✓ play a card game

✓ ride a bike or scooter

✓ read or look at a book

✓ make a scrap book of your holiday fun or weekend outing

✓ play with the hula hoop

✓ skip with a skipping rope

✓ learn a simple magic trick

✓ plant some seedlings

✓ play hopscotch,

✓ learn to knit or crochet

✓ play with a train set

✓ play with blocks and cars

✓ thread big beads or pasta onto string

✓ look through a photo album

✓ play with a tea set and dolls

✓ create a Cooking Box – full of suitable kitchen toys for a toddler to play with whilst you cook (eg. cake pan, cookie cutters, wooden spoon, measuring cups, rubber spatula, etc.)

✓ play a board game

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