Physical activity and exercise are important not just for adults, but also for young children. Regular exercise and an active lifestyle promote health, and keep your young one fit and strong. Brisk walk or outdoor games like soccer, basketball, swimming etc. can be not only fun, but also beneficial for the well-being of your child. Silver Spring, MD is home to innumerable well-renowned pediatric clinic and pediatricians. Here is what they have to say about the advantages of physical activity for young children.
# 1 - Maintain the right weight
A larger number of children today lead a sedentary lifestyle thanks to electronic devices and the games that come with them. Even from an age as young as 2 or 3 years, these kids are glued to smartphone screens, and play stations, and get very little physical activity. As a result, they tend to gain weight and turn obese in their pre puberty years. Exercise and games help them burn calories and keep their weight under check. It can also help them control their appetite. Your pediatrician in Silver Spring, MD can help you determine whether your child has a healthy body weight.
# 2 – Bring down stress
Children can be exposed to stress like adults. When left unidentified or unmanaged, it can lead to headaches, stomach aches, or other kinds of discomfort in your child. Through physical activity, your little one is not able to recognize stress but also able to control it and diffuse it effectively. A child who exercises regularly or involves actively in outdoor games is less likely to feel stress related problems than his/her sedentary peers.
# 3 – Improve flexibility
Flexibility of muscles, tendons, and ligaments is important for a healthy living and smooth movement. This helps children remain physically fit and lets them twist and bend their bodies through a complete range of normal motions without overexerting or getting themselves injured. Physical activities and specific stretching exercises (incorporated through warm up and cool down routines) help them develop this ability, and keep them more agile. Regular exercise also helps them maintain this suppleness throughout life.
# 4 – Build cardiovascular endurance
Heart diseases are a worrisome lot for adults and children alike, and is an ailment that regularly causes deaths in Americans. Regular physical activity helps protect your child against heart ailments from a young age. It improves his/her cardiovascular system and general fitness, and keeps him/her healthy. This is because aerobic activity makes the heart pump more efficiently, thereby reducing incidence of high blood pressure. It also helps raise blood levels of good cholesterol that removes excess fat from the blood stream. Cardiovascular exercises need to be done by middle year children at least two to three times in a week. This should be preceded by warm up and cool downs, which can be accomplished by stretching for a few minutes before and after the exercise. This enables the muscles, joints, and cardiovascular system to ease into and out of vigorous activity, thereby ensuring a safe workout.
# 5 – Develop muscle strength and endurance
Better muscle strength allows children to exercise for a longer period of time, and protects them from injuries. Strong muscles provide better support to the joints and keep them in good condition. Physical activity and specific exercise like modified push-ups, modified pull-ups, and modified sit ups help build abdominal muscles, increase lung capacity, and protect against back injuries.
In order to stay fit, it is important that your child gets enough exercise. It is equally important he/she works out in the proper manner so that injuries or adverse conditions do not occur. You can always consult a pediatrician in Silver Spring, MD to clarify any doubt that you about this topic, and to check for any condition that may prove dangerous to your child if he/she works out.
White Oak Pediatrics is a pediatric clinic based in Silver Spring and Gaithersburg, MD ( www.Whiteoakpediatrics.com/pediatrician-in-silver-spring ) whose team of board certified pediatricians and nurse practitioners treat infants, toddlers, teens and adolescents. To learn more, visit www.Whiteoakpediatrics.com/meet-our-providers.