Making exercise fun is key to getting and keeping
kids active. (Photo courtesy Cara Rufenacht, Venture Outdoors)

With spring around the corner and the snow melting, it’s time for kids to get back outdoors.

Exercise is a crucial part of a balanced lifestyle, according to Dr. Anthony Mannarino, a child psychologist and vice president of the department of psychiatry at Allegheny General Hospital.

“When children have a moderate amount of exercise, there are clearly some health benefits,” Mannarino said. “Included in that are better mood and less anxiety.”

In his experience, Mannarino feels that just like with anything else, children first and foremost need to be interested in the exercise in order for to want to participate.

“If it is just running laps at the track or just doing pushups without reason, most children and even adults are not going to sustain that workout,” he said. “Create some kind of exercise that is fun for them because kids are going to be drawn to that more.”

One important thing to remember, he added, is that children tend to play follow the leader.

“If adults exercise, their children are more likely to follow suit. If their parents or other caregivers do not, then it’s going to be harder to get their kids to do it.”

Getting your kids to exercise might be easier than you think. Dr. TaTanisha Smith, a pediatrician at Allegheny General, says that the exercise doesn’t necessarily have to be structured.

“Very often, many of our parents are looking for an organized sport,” Smith said. “It doesn’t have to cost anything. Say, for example, during commercial breaks walking around the table or doing pushups — any types of physical activity are sufficient.”

Even though the exercise can be playing outside, Smith said that an hour a day is sufficient.

“That hour a day doesn’t have to be a solid hour,” she said. “It can be broken up into two half-hour segments or four 15-minute segments, but the idea is to raise the heart rate and preferably break a sweat.”

Smith also recommends keeping an eye on injuries and hydration. If a child does complain of pain or injury, the parent should re-evaluate the kind of exercise the child is doing and make sure it’s appropriate.

One way to prevent injuries is to make sure the children stretch after exercising.

“Stretching is very important and that decreases the risk of injury,” Smith said. “At least part of that one hour of exercise period should include five to 10 minutes of stretching.”

As for hydration, she recommends eight to 10 glasses of fluid each day, especially in the summer when we might lose track of how much we’re drinking.

Although Smith emphasized that structured exercise is not a must, there are plenty of opportunities to get your children involved in sports teams in the area.

Dave Wilson, who taught physical education at Shuman Detention for thirty years and has been the commissioner of Old Allegheny Soccer for 21 years, sees a lot of benefits in learning about exercise from sports.

“I think they go hand-in-hand,” Wilson said. “Sports are good for kids and the coach’s enthusiasm helps promote the exercise as well as the game.”

When the question of balance comes up, Wilson agrees with Mannarino that it can be extremely beneficial to a child’s health to have regular exercise.

“I don’t think it’s debatable that exercise should be a part of life,” Wilson said. “Movement and your physical being, at all stages of life, are important. Sports are just a fun way to exercise.”