Getting fit with fun Fun, physical games help lure kids into exercising

Jackson Burnette, a 10-yearold Westview Elementary School student, isn't wild about basketball. But he has flipped over advanced boys gymnastics at The Little Gym in East Brainerd.

"Cartwheels, flips, tummy rolls and pullovers are good exercise," Jackson said, "and they're fun."

Today's children are more sedentary than ever, according to a American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement released this month. Twice as many girls as boys are inactive -- 14 percent of girls compared to 7 percent of boys.

Electronic games and parents' safety fears play a role, experts believe.

Physical activities must be fun, non-competitive, teach basic motor skills and look like "games" to lure children to participate, the academy advised.

Jamie Harvey, an instructor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's health and human performance department, agreed. Intense competition, she added, sometimes sidelines otherwise talented children. That's because winning and losing is often not fun for them.

"When a child is no longer having fun," Ms. Harvey said, "they quit, they cry, they don't want to do it. When the fun's gone, they check out."

Two local programs say their experience bears out the academy's research.

"There are a lot of kids out there that don't fit into that sports mold," said Charlene Crawford, Hamilton Family YMCA youth fitness director. "They're not interested in it, they don't excel, so we want to expose them to other ways to be fit."

Classes for 2 to 5 year olds, she said, are 30 minutes of free play plus 30 minutes of structured games. For ages 6 to 12, wellrounded games and fun exercises are taught.

"Children may be doing pushups, but they'll be moving a tennis ball from place to place," she said. "To them that's a game, but they're building shoulder and abdominal strength."

Jumping rope is popular with both boys and girls, Ms. Crawford said. Playing in water, she added, is fun for kids and a great workout.

At The Little Gym, classes are non-competitive with a focus on safety, skills and fun, said owner Keith Moreland. "We focus not on doing a perfect skill," he said, "but on giving kids confidence and opportunities to be successful."

To develop self-confidence in kids, he added, a very positive, safe environment is required. Children are rewarded for effort rather than performance, he continued.

"So much these days is about performance," he said. "But young kids aren't quite ready for that -- emotionally or physically. But they're quite good at giving effort."

Without competition as a motivator, their children are gaining skills rapidly, parents said.

"The positive feedback is very important," said Erika Ensign, an East Brainerd resident and mother of Peter Ensign, an 8-year-old Westview Elementary student. "He's made a lot of progress, and his self-esteem has improved."

"He's always been very active," said Rebecca Burnette, Jackson's mother. "But we've seen a change in his physical confidence and in what he can do with his body."

Like adults, children hop, skip and jump only when they enjoy an activity, Ms. Harvey said. Ideal games involve everyone, have rest periods and no eliminations.

"Don't play games that eliminate and embarrass," she said, "or are physically or psychologically hurtful."

Dodgeball, she said, can be mean-spirited. And children who don't like to move will get hit with the ball so they can sit out. "In my (elementary physical education) class I tell them, don't play dodgeball," Ms. Harvey said. "We want children to want to participate."