|
 PRESCHOOL
FITNESS: WILL MICHELLE OBAMA'S "LET'S
MOVE" CAMPAIGN HELP?
Written by: Michele
Silence (bio)
Once the word spread that Michelle
Obama was to officially take on childhood
obesity, I rejoiced! For 15 years I've
waited for action. Something other than
gloomy reports and staggering statistics
about how bleak our children's health
is. All this time I've wondered when
someone would actually care and have
the ability to take effective action.
Well, it looks like something will
be happening now. With the creation
of Michelle's "Let's
Move" campaign, definite goals
have been put in place. For one, the
food children eat at school will be
considered, as well as ways in which
to improve it. That's something that
has gotten progressively worse as time
has gone by. And, in regards to physical
activity, the emphasis is on finding
ways to include more of it in all children's
lives, at least an hour per day.
This is all well and good for elementary
aged youth and those older, but how
will it impact preschool children? Will
it touch them at all? Or will they go
unnoticed, once again? According to
the American Heart Association, one
in three children in this country is
considered overweight or obese. Preschool
children are specifically mentioned
in the "Let's Move" plan,
but there are no mandates or guidelines
yet in place to address this age group.
I totally believe it's up to us - all
of us with a stake in or a passion for
physical fitness. If WE decide to extend
it to preschoolers, it can absolutely
make a difference.
The problem is that preschool fitness
is not defined by any one profession.
It's not studied by preschool teachers
in college or by fitness professionals
earning their certifications. P.E. teachers
are taught more about kids older than
age 5. Businesses market to primary
school aged kids, and health clubs view
young children as a babysitting problem
more than as a business opportunity.
Preschool fitness should be part of
all these industries, yet it slips past
each one. As a result, everyone is missing
out, most of all the children.
Physical education teachers need to
remember that P.E. doesn't begin in
kindergarten; it really starts years
earlier. And it should. More and more
experts are insisting that preventative
measures for obesity and other lifestyle
diseases such as heart disease, diabetes,
stroke, and cancer should all begin
by age two. Serious risk factors pile
up with each successive year lifestyle
is ignored. Then, at some point, it
won't be nearly as easy to reverse these
factors, ensuring the prediction that
our kids today won't outlive their parents.
Those who work in or run childcare
centers need to be reminded that they
have a definite responsibility too.
Preschools are taking care of children
for such a great majority of time that
kids hardly see their parents. Centers
are caretakers of our next generation.
Their staff should unquestionably provide
exposure to important nutrition information
and offer plenty of opportunities for
fitness. No, not just running around
wild on the playground, but true fitness
activities. They need to move. And to
eat right. Teach them that celebrating
doesn't mean pigging out or eating globs
of fat. There's no reason why parties
can't emphasize tasty, healthy alternatives
to the standard pizza, ice cream, and
cupcake fanfare.
Fitness instructors need to pay attention
to the reasons they got involved in
their profession to begin with. To help
people. To improve health and wellness.
To make a difference. That takes a lot
more effort than learning a new choreographed
routine for an aerobic class or obsessing
about two extra pounds of fat in the
mirror. Just because it may require
some learning on how to motivate and
work with a preschool age group doesn't
absolve personal trainers and fitness
gurus from their responsibility. Again,
it goes beyond personal comfort level.
Health club managers need to think
about this too. Where are your classes
for preschoolers? What are you waiting
for? A parent who values exercise and
working out surely would want his or
her child to start exercising as well.
Even if you offered preschool programs
for free, you'd be attracting fit-minded
parents to your facility and be molding
young children into accepting exercise
as a fun part of life. Are you not aware
that a preschool child nags his/her
parents mercilessly until he/she gets
the object of desire? This means retail
sales for you too (clothing, shoes,
towels, water bottles, toy weights,
etc.).
Preschool children offer a rich, untapped
new market into which to enter - a market
that will send a steady stream of customers
directly into other children's programs
and eventually adult programming. This
means customers that won't be resistant.
Young children mean permanent job security
for the fitness industry. Why do McDonalds,
Camel Cigarettes, Nickelodeon, cereal
companies, toy companies, and candy
conveyors all see a goldmine when they
market their products to children? Why
does the fitness industry not learn
about cradle to grave marketing and
start doing the same thing? Counteract
some of these corporate monsters who
are showing children how to eat poorly
and lead lives of inactivity just to
make sales on their products. Start
a trend that being fit is fun. There
are enough of us to do it!
Sporting goods manufacturers need to
count the dollars they're going to be
losing. Doesn't it make sense that if
we don't teach the young to recreate
and move, they won't be exercising later
on? How can you continue to sell basketballs
and cardio equipment if the generation
coming up doesn't use them? No one wants
to look stupid in front of others or
feel incompetent. If we don't provide
ways to get the youngest kids moving
at an age when they don't care how they
look or how successful they are performing
sports skills, it spells doom later
on. Set up the motivation now, so that
later kids will be asking for a soccer
ball or tennis racket instead of downloading
another movie on their laptop. Take
charge now while there is still a chance,
or get ready to hand over your future
profits to iTunes and video game makers.
Organizations that accredit preschools
need to know that the time has come.
Fitness programming is an absolute must.
Why is it not already among the other
criteria that currently signify a well
rounded, respectable daycare environment?
What types of things are on the list
to become accredited? I say several
could easily take a back seat to daily
physical fitness - Finger painting for
one.
We've got to start with the youngest
children. Little kids don't really care
if they have a greasy french fry or
a baked potato. Food doesn't have emotional
significance tied to it - yet. And,
young children love to move. Good dietary
choices and physical activity are both
natural and easy to instill. What other
time in life is it so simple to plant
the roots for a healthy future. None.
You and I learned some of the most basic
and important health habits during the
first five years of our lives. And,
we developed our taste preferences then
as well. Waiting until kids are 8, 10,
or 12 is too late. By then we've let
them down and set them on a path of
ill health, suffering, and a shorter
lifespan.
The time is here. It's our chance to
beat the corporate giants at their own
game by making fitness fun and cool,
starting in preschool. It doesn't matter
what field you're in, the window of
opportunity for anyone who works with
young children has opened. Don't miss
this shot or wait for someone else to
do it. If we don't ALL engage ourselves
now, we may not get another chance -
at least not in our lifetimes. And,
for the children, that would be the
worst tragedy of all.
Sign
Petition:
Please Put Physical Fitness In Preschools
(http://kid-fit.com/wordpress/?p=318)
Michele Silence,
MA, is a 24-year fitness professional,
trainer, educator, writer, and CEC provider.
She is the president of Aerobic Fitness
Consultants and the creator of KID-FIT,
physical education classes for preschoolers.
KID-FIT has been piloted nationwide,
featured in the L.A. Times, appeared
in the news and on television. Michele
has spoken about preschool fitness at
a number of national health-related
conferences. Contact Michele at http://www.kid-fit.com
or at michele@kid-fit.com.
|
