Tips from ParticipACTION's Active Living Ambassador

Spring makes family fitness a breeze!

If you're a parent with young children, you probably feel as though you're in motion from early morning until late at night. But are you and your family getting enough physical activity and the right kinds in order to meet Canada's Physical Activity Guidelines?

To be sure your family is getting enough physical activity you might consider keeping track (just for a week of two) of the time each family member spends engaged in physical activity. Write it all down -- the walks to and from school and swimming lessons, the fitness class you take at the community centre, the walks you enjoy with the new mom down the street, the hour you devote on weekends to weeding the lawn, the bike riding "dates" you enjoy with your partner and even the time the kids spend truly active (and not just wrist-flicking) on the wii.

Happily, with the arrival of spring and warmer months still to come, most families find it easier than ever to engage in active outdoor fun. Here are a few tips and tricks to help families, like yours, get started:

• Start with your own backyard! Encourage your kids to play outdoors whenever possible. Equip your child with age-appropriate play equipment such as soccer balls, basketballs, roller skates, tricycles, bicycles, Frisbees, skipping ropes, chalk for hopscotch, hula hoops, a kite, and equipment that will encourage physical activity. Become the active house on the block and be sure to pass along any sports equipment your child has outgrown.

• If there's room in your yard, add a badminton or volleyball net (lower it for younger children) that will encourage after-school, after-dinner and weekend games of badminton or volleyball (an inflatable beach ball works well for younger children).

• Walk your kids to school each day or have them walk with friends. If you're walking little ones, play some games along the way to pass the time and make it more fun. Green light, walk fast. Yellow light, slow it down. Red light, stop - or try running or skipping from one house to the next.

• Bike ride with your child to and from school and get active on bikes as a family in the evenings and on weekends. Challenge older children and their friends with longer rides and those that include small hills or off-road dirt paths. Remember: no helmet, no ride!

• The clocks have changed and evenings are lighter longer. Eat dinner as early as possible and spend an hour at the park, in the backyard or taking the dog for a walk. Remember that your participation and enthusiasm are key!

• Skip! Skipping is not just for kids and provides a terrific and low-cost way to increase your cardiovascular fitness. If it's been years since you've jumped rope, you'll likely be surprised by just how great a workout it can be.

• This spring, consider equipping the family with pedometers and adding odometers to each person's bike. Older children and adults alike enjoy these gadgets and love seeing their hard work add up. Challenge yourself and your children to walk, run, or cycle a specific distance this spring.

• Plan some family-style day excursions. Consider packing a picnic and heading to the nearest provincial park for a day of hiking, or how about treating older children to a full day of cycling?

There are so many ways to enjoy the outdoors and get active as a family.

Spring is here... carpe diem!

Catherine Cameron

Ambassador, Active Living

For more tips and articles written by Catherine Cameron, Ambassador, Active Living, or to chat with her, visit the ParticipACTION Blog. Keep up to date with the latest ParticipACTION news and join in on the discussion - become a fan of our FACEBOOK group, follow us on TWITTER or check out our BLOG. 

Physical Activity in the News

Today's After School Special - Inactivity

Canadian children missing the mark on physical activity in the after-school period.

An alarming modern-day trend has emerged - Canadian kids are coming home from school and are parking their bodies.

According to the 2011 Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, Canadian children are only getting a meager 14 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity in the three hour period between school dismissal and the supper hour. 

The Report Card tells us that the pattern of after-school inactivity is overwhelming with 92% of this time-period being spent by children and youth in sedentary pursuits or light physical activity.

Screen time is stealing the after-school show

Many Canadian children have abandoned physical play after school for the bright lights of the computer. The Report Card confirms this; hitting the couch after school has become the norm, with 73% of parents reporting that their children are engaged in very sedentary activities like watching TV, reading, or playing video and computer games after school.

Getting outside can make a difference

Being told to go play outside after school may do more for kids than we realize. What we do know is this: the Report Card reveals that currently, kids who play outdoors after school get 2000 more steps - or the equivalent of walking an additional 2km a day - than those who do not play outside after school.

The irony of inactivity after school is this; kids are missing out on physical activity during the time in their day when they could probably be getting the most.

"The after-school period represents an underutilized opportunity for children and youth to gain emotional and physical health benefits through physical activity," says Dr. Mark Tremblay, Chief Scientific Officer, Active Healthy Kids Canada.  "Time spent being active outdoors after school lowers levels of anxiety, anger, fatigue and sadness. The science and benefits are clear; we need to re-establish the healthy practice of after-school physical activity in our communities."

On the home front, parents and caregivers can positively influence their child's physical activity levels. "Parents and caregivers play an important role in helping to change our children's after-school habits" says Kelly Murumets, President and CEO of ParticipACTION. "Support can be as simple as encouraging your child to try out for sports teams, using active transportation as much as possible, restricting television viewing, video and computer games during the after-school period, or making the playground, instead of the couch, an after-school destination."

For our children the direction to go and play more after school should be a welcome prescription for a healthy active life.

For more information, or to download the 2011 Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card, visit www.activehealthykids.ca

Q & A 

A- Our kids are not involved in any after-school extracurricular activities, and we are unsure if they are obtaining the amount of physical activity they need at school. How do we make sure our children are getting the recommended amount of daily physical activity outside of school?  

 - Brad and Jocelyn

Q- You both have recognized the need to incorporate more physical activity into your children's lives - beyond what they obtain in school - and this is great! Just as the 2011 Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth has indicated, kids are sedentary 59% of the time between 3 and 6 p.m., getting only 14 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity in this 3-hour period. (2007-09 CHMS).

Here are a few recommendations for increasing the amount of physical activity your child obtains within the after-school period;

• Get outside! Kids who are outside during the after-school period take about 2,000 more steps per day than kids who are cocooned indoors. This is a substantial amount of activity, roughly equivalent to walking an additional 2 kilometres per day!
• Give children and youth the reins for their choice of physical activity. They can meet up with friends to play ball hockey, connect with other groups of kids and caregivers at the playground or join a team so it's fun, active, social - and what they want to do.
• Make use of the programs and facilities offered at your local community centre. Have your kids sign up for different house leagues or take recreational classes at the appropriate skill level, such as basketball, soccer, gymnastics, dance and swimming.
• Set a maximum of two hours of screen time (computer, cell phone, TV and gaming) per day.
• Have your kids and teens walk, skate or bike to and from school.

For more recommendations, or information, on physical activity in the after-school period visit the Active Healthy Kids Canada website, download the rest of ParticipACTION's  "How to Keep Active After School" tips sheet (insert link), or take some time and check out ParticipACTION's After-School Activity Guide/Tracker (insert link) with your kids.

Professional Development

The Canadian Mental Health Association Round Table
Toronto, ON
May 5 

The Mental Health and Physical Activity Roundtable will bring together individuals and organizations in the community mental health sector and the physical activity sector to learn about planning and implementing successful, sustainable physical activity programs for people with serious mental illness.

For more information, visit the Mind Our Bodies website.

CAAWS Grant Opportunity
National
Application Deadline May 16 

With funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, CAAWS is offering incentive grants to groups/organizations interested in increasing physical activity and sport participation among Ontario women aged 55-70+.

Activities that will be funded include:

• Modification of existing physical activity/sport programs (communications, structure, leaders, environments, etc.) to make them more appealing to women 55-70+;
• Development of new physical activity/sport programs specifically for women 55-70+;
• Training of women 55-70+ to be physical activity/sport leaders.

Project Timeline: June 2011 - February 2012

Application Deadline: May 16, 2011

For more information, or the application form and guidelines , visit the CAAWS website or email purpledog@sympatico.ca.

Research to Action 2011 | Activity and Aging Conference
University of Western Ontario, London
June 24-25 

The theme of this year's conference is Motivating Older Adults To Get Physically Active. The event will feature a host of dynamic new presenters and speakers (as well as some old favourites)! All are eager to share their latest research and physical activity initiatives with our delegates!

For more information or to register for the conference visit the University of Waterloo website or email smerkel2@uwo.ca .

The ParticipACTION Partner Network - Building Strength in Numbers

Since the inception of the ParticipACTION Partner Network (PPN) in late 2009, a variety of not-for-profit and public-sector organizations have joined our ranks. The group shares a similar vision - to motivate and encourage Canadians to lead more active, healthy lives. With over 125 organizational members thus far, and with more and more organizations joining every week, the PPN is building strength in numbers.

The PPN is dedicated to those involved in the physical activity, recreation and sport participation sectors. ParticipACTION's belief is that the PPN will not only help support the work of individual member organizations, but will strengthen the physical activity and sport participation sector in Canada.

Membership in the PPN is free and voluntary, and provides organizations with the following benefits:

• Access to desirable and valuable sector information through Partner Forums and free, easy-to-use communications and resource distribution channels
• Membership to the Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC)
• Access to customizable ParticipACTION Tool Kit materials

For more information on the PPN and how the network can benefit you and your organization, visit the PPN webpage or contact Christa Costas-Bradstreet at ccbradstreet@participACTION.com

If you have an upcoming professional development opportunity that you would like featured, please contact info@participACTION.com.

Scatter Orienteering & 5km trail run
Canmore, AB
May 8

Scatter Orienteering & 5km Trail Run at the Canmore Nordic Centre! This running event will be a gentle introduction to orienteering racing. An introductory clinic and mass-start race will be designed for first-time and intermediate-level orienteerers. For those who prefer following a marked route through the forest there will be a 5km trail run along an ever changing variety of trails. All fitness levels are welcome. Individual, teams and family entries are invited.

For more information on this event visit the Nordic Centre website. 

Move for Health Day
National
May 10 

Celebrate Move for Health Day May 10! Move for Health Day is an annual day of celebration of physical activity and active living, delivered by the BC Recreation and Parks Association in BC since its creation by the World Health Organization in 2002.  Find a Move for Health Day event taking place on or around May 10 near you at www.bcrpa.bc.ca/mfhd.  

For more information, e-mail mfhd@bcrpa.bc.ca

The Arthritis Society's Walk to Fight Arthritis
National (various cities across the country)
May 15 

The Arthritis Society's Walk to Fight Arthritis is just weeks away.  Thousands of walkers in 25 communities across Canada will come together to walk, celebrate and raise funds to find a cure for a disease that affects over 4 million Canadians.

There's still plenty of time to REGISTER and join the fight against arthritis!

For more information visit the Walk to Fight Arthritis website.

Dartmouth Volkssport Event
Dartmouth, NS
Month of May 

Volkssport Event is an organized non-competitive walk, bike ride, swim or cross-country ski through a scenic area over a pre-determined route designed for people of all ages. Participants travel at their own pace and several distances are usually available. Volkssports are ideal activities for the entire family, and also a great way to meet new friends.

For more information on the Volkssport Event or to view the walking schedule visit the Dartmouth Volksmarch website.

Montreal Bike Fest
Montréal, QC
May 29 -June 05 

This week-long festival offers a number of cycling activities. The final weekend closes with two unique events: Un Tour la Nuit, which sees more than 12,000 cyclists ride through Montréal's streets at night on a 20 km course, and the Tour de l'Île de Montréal which welcomes some 35,000 participants following a 50-km (31-mi.) course.

For more information on the Montreal Bike Fest, visit the following website.

Winnipeg International Children's Festival
Winnipeg, MB
June 9-12 

The Children's Festival will feature 30 shows daily of music, dance, puppetry and hands-on activities with local, national and international artists.

For more information about the Festival visit Kids Fest website.

Success Stories 

View other Success Stories or submit your own on the ParticipACTION website.