"Inside the Playspace" Playground Blog

Recommendations for increasing physical activity in the early years

Policy-makers
Invest in active living for children under five; ensure childcare policies mandate daily physical activity and adequately resource staff; target caregivers with incentives and messaging to get kids active and be active with them.

Public Health & Healthcare Professionals
Promote physical activity, active play, and reduced screen time as part of early years support programs for families.

Parents
Keep TVs out of bedrooms, institute screen time limits, and create opportunities for active outdoor play for kids and as a family.

Early Childhood Educators & Schools
Train and resource staff; offer a minimum of 90 minutes of daily active play time, indoors and outdoors, structured and unstructured.

Visit Active Playground Equipment to assist you in creating a playground area to encourage physical activity.

Active Healthy Kids Canada influences thinking and action among issue stakeholders to help them build better programs, campaigns and policies in order to increase physical activity among children and youth.

Each year Active Healthy Kids Canada produces an annual ‘Report Card‘ on research they complete throughout the year.

Here are some quick facts and discoveries that are very interesting.

»» The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) indicates that only 36% of 2-3-year-olds and 44% of 4-5-year olds
regularly engage in unorganized sport and physical activity each week.

»» A survey of Edmonton parents indicates that only 42% of preschoolers get 90 minutes of physical activity per day.

»» In childcare centre settings, one US study shows that 89% of children’s time is spent being sedentary. Whatever the setting, children under five require adequate unstructured play and time outdoors for physical, cognitive and emotional development.

In 1971, the average age at which children began to watch TV was 4 years; today, it is 5 months:

»» More than 90% of kids begin watching TV before the age of two, despite recommendations that screen time should be zero for
children under two, and limited to 1 hour for kids 2-5.

»» The NLSCY indicates that 27% of those aged 2-3 and 22% of those aged 4-5 are watching more than 2 hours of TV per day. Overweight and obesity in Canadians under six is rising. Two regional reports tell us the prevalence of obesity in those aged 2-5 years is
between 8-11%.3,4 National data show that 15.2% of 2-5-year-olds are overweight and 6.3% are obese. This reality should be high on public health agendas given that:

»» Obesity in infancy persists through the preschool years.

»» Children who become obese before the age of six are likely to be obese later in childhood.

»» Obese children have a 25-50% increased risk of being obese as adults.

»» It is estimated that overweight 2-5-year-olds are four times as likely to be overweight as adults.

View the whole Report Card here.

To help get kids Active! Visit our website for unique playground equipment, and playspace ideas.

Here’s a very interesting article we found in USA Today on the growing popularity of natural playgrounds.

View our Natural Play Concepts Here, and read the article below:

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald Special for, USA TODAY

BOSTON — The playground of the future is beginning to take shape — and it looks a lot like the backyard of the past.

Designers of children’s play spaces are increasingly looking beyond slides, jungle gyms and other plastic-coated structures in their quest to create fun, safe, healthy environments. As a result, kids are running outside and discovering play areas dotted with old standbys: sand, water, boulders, hills and logs.

“This is an emerging national trend of some significance,” says Richard Dolesh, chief of public policy for the National Recreation and Parks Association. “Parents and other adults want natural opportunities for kids … The question is: how do you ensure safety with the inherent challenges that nature brings?”

Natural play spaces, as they’re called, are becoming more common as municipalities, schools and child care centers seek sustainable ways to invest in new or aging playgrounds. Seattle is adding at least six natural play spaces to existing city parks. Boston-area institutions have at least four in the works. Similar projects are either underway or recently completed in Phoenix, Chicago, New York and Auburn, Ala.

Visit Active Playground Equipment Natural Play for natural playground concepts.

Playground Fundraising Tips

• Your school will be refunded a percentage of the GST paid on your new APE Play Structure. Your principal or school board can confirm the percentage amount refunded.

• Confirm and book dates for fund raising events well in advance with your principal.

• Certain times of the year are very busy for staff (e.g. report cards), try to plan large events around these times. This will encourage staff participation.

• Try to ensure that your event does not coincide with the same type of event that another local organization may be doing in the community.

• Send notices/fund raising events home on coloured paper so it will stand out.

• Use a thermometer to chart your success. It will motivate the students as they get closer to their goal.

• Posting a 3D rendering of your play structure will increase anticipation. Your APE representative can provide you with one.

• If you are in need of volunteers to run an event, you could ask local high school students. They require 40 hours of community service to graduate.

• Be sure to give frequent reports/updates to keep the school community informed.
You can also use the school newsletter.

• Establish goals on all fund raising events.

• Have time limits (10 – 14 days) on fund raising events that require selling items.

• Stay motivated and have fun.

An excerpt from the Paediatric Child Health Volume 7 issue, No 5 May/June 2002.

The full article can be found here:

In 1999, Canada’s high school dropout rate was 12%, down 33% from an estimated 18% in 1991 (48). Students leaving before graduation were more likely to report a lack of enjoyment with school, dissatisfaction with their courses and teachers, and nonparticipation in extracurricular activities. School physical education programs and extracurricular physical activities could play a significant role in improving students’ attitudes, discipline and behaviours (49). Although information on the number of children in Canada taking regular physical education classes is incomplete, it is estimated that most schools offer half of the recommended provincial requirement, and less than 4% offer quality daily physical education programs. Unfortunately, in 2001, only 33% of all schools in Canada had formal physical education classes, and programming varied from school to school (Guy Tanguay, personal communication). Formal physical education is optional after grade nine in Canada. In recent years, parents and the business community have pressured educators to adjust the curriculum to prepare students for the workforce.

Some claim that reducing the number of hours spent on physical activity will increase academic achievement. Yet, there is no evidence that regular physical activity hinders educational performance and there is modest evidence that shows that it actually enhances academic achievement (50).

The 1996 United States Surgeon General’s report recommend 1 h or more of aerobic physical activity and exercise on most days (51).  Physicians have a vital role to play in the reinstatement of regular quality daily physical education in all schools and in all age groups. Children and youth should be provided with safe school recreation facilities that are stocked with appropriate equipment, ensuring exposure to a wide range of physical activities, especially those encouraging lifestyle changes. School-based facilities are not only important for increasing physical activity during school hours, they are an essential means to allow all children access to cost effective community recreation programs after school.