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What do you think contributes to the lack of physical activity in children and adolescents? – Technological advances have been a necessary evil in that they afford children the opportunity to self-entertain in a sedentary environment. Phones, Gaming systems, TV streaming/recording has made it much easier to fill voids of time that would have previously been filled with physical activity. In addition to technology, densely populated cities such as those in the GTA find themselves with a resource crisis when it comes to the number of available park spaces, arenas, soccer fields, etc. This leads to less than ideal sporting event times (early in am or late at night) that deter some families or disrupt the normal family routine.
In the participaction report, it stated that children spend 8.5 hours being sedentary, doing things that don’t require any physical activity. Do you think that there is too much sedentary activities in school that are not beneficial to children? – The reality is, school is a necessary component of children’s lives and it has always been a prominently sedentary environment with the exception of gym class. That being said, with the other issues mentioned above hindering one’s ability to be active in their non-school hours, it may be necessary for the school system to lead the charge in increasing PA throughout the daily schedule of a child in order to drive a necessary change in our society.
What are some improvements we could make to our schooling system that would improve Canada’s physical activity participation report card? – Adding additional time for activity throughout the day, whether is be small stretching/walking breaks or lengthened PE classes would be helpful. Continuing to offer pre-post school our activities supervised by staff or volunteers. Increasing the education to staff regarding the benefits of activity and how to incorporate more physical activity into everyday learning. Making use of indoor space for physical activity during the colder winter months to promote safe and fun activities in an environment that kids may be more inclined to participate in.
How do you think the use of iPads in classrooms have had an impact on physical activity and the health of children? – If anything, slideshows and visual displays convey messages faster, thus should create more efficient lessons and learning modules, which in turn will free up more time to participate in PA. Writing notes by hand or watching a teacher draw on the chalkboard are just as sedentary as using an iPAD, so I don’t feel strongly about the use of them in today’s schools. If anything it also allows kids to be mobile while they learn, and could be used in a more active sense during school lessons such as bringing science classes outdoors to explore, etc.