Think your kid is active enough...
Think again!
Research from Active For Life and ParticipACTION
Active Healthy Kids Report Card
Year over year Canadian kids have received a failing grade for daily physical activity.
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According to the latest report card kids need to drop the phones, turn away from the screens, get off the couch and break a sweat. It’s time for them to get moving more – for the sake of their brains. For decades we’ve known that physical activity improves heart health, helps maintain healthy body weights and builds strong bones and muscles in kids across a range of skills and abilities.
Now we are taking a closer look at what physical activity does for one of their most vital and complex organs: the brain.
Physical Literacy
The early years are critical in children’s development. It’s essential that they spend significant time in exploratory play and movement in order to build the foundations for their long-term physical, mental, and emotional health.
Through regular movement, children develop not only their physical body and motor skills, but also their brain, their emotional control, and their ability to relate to other children. These early developments represent the beginning stages of physical literacy
Long Term Athlete Development
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In order to support and encourage kids’ development in sport, Sport Canada has developed The Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model as a framework for an optimal training, competition and recovery each stage of athletic development.
There are seven stages within the basic LTAD model:
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Stage 1: Active Start (0-6 years)
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Stage 2: FUNdamentals (girls 6-8, boys 6-9)
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Stage 3: Learn to Train (girls 8-11, boys 9-12)
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Stage 4: Train to Train (girls 11-15, boys 12-16)
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Stage 5: Train to Compete (girls 15-21, boys 16-23)
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Stage 6: Train to Win (girls 18+, boys 19+)
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Stage 7: Active for Life (any age participant)
Stages 1, 2 and 3 develop physical literacy before puberty so children have the basic skills to be active for life. Physical literacy also provides the foundation for those who choose to pursue elite training in one sport or activity after age 12.
Stages 4-7 provide elite training for those who want to specialize in one sport or are past their competitive years and want to maintain their recreational pursuits.
