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WASHINGTON-Simple,
daily activities are crucial building clocks for babies, toddlers
and preschoolers in learning to walk, run or handle more advanced
physical activities, say the first physical education guidelines
for children so young. Too many youngsters are confined in strollers,
baby seats or playpens for long periods, says the National Association
for Sport and Physical Education.
The group issued the
guidelines yesterday for parents, day care centers and preschools.
"We 'containerize' kids" to keep them safe while parents are
busy, said Michigan State University exercise physiologist Jim
Pivarnik, a co-author of the guidelines. Instead, give them
a safe environment and "let them out, let them explore, let
them move." The goal is a common-sense, fun activities-and making
physical activity part of normal, everyday life in hopes that
the children will not grow up to be among the 60 percent of
Americans who are overweight couch potatoes.
Many parents assume
skills such as rolling, sitting and working will just come naturally
as babies grow, said Jan Clark of the University of Maryland,
who led the panel of movement and pediatric specialist who wrote
the "Active Start" guidelines. But "you have to provide that
environment that hooks the brain up to the muscles," she said.
Because young children naturally move around a lot, many caregivers
assume they are getting all the physical activity they need.
But different activites are needed at different ages to spur
development, Clark added.
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