EARLY CHILDHOOD

Counseling

General

• Children should be physically active every day or nearly every day, as part of play, games, physical education, planned physical activities, recreation, and sports, in the context of family, school, and community activities.
• Encourage parents to promote daily physical activity (e.g., walking, running, riding a tricycle or bike, dancing, playing with a ball or at the playground, playing on equipment that requires balance, playing games such as "Simon Says").
• Developmentally appropriate organized activities such as tumbling, gymnastics, and dancing are excellent for children if they are taught by qualified, experienced instructors.
• Encourage parents to wait until their children are 6 years old before beginning organized sports. In early childhood, children are too young to understand rules and strategies and to handle the emotional and social stress sometimes associated with organized sports.
• Encourage parents to let children do things for themselves (e.g., letting them climb up into the child safety seat).
• Explain to parents how to encourage their children to participate in physical activity. For example, parents can play with their children before watching television, then gradually extend playtime and decrease television time.
• Encourage parents to participate in physical activity with their children and to be positive role models by participating in physical activity themselves.
• Discuss with parents the importance of using child care providers who promote physical activity and have the space and equipment for it.

Physical Development

• Children do not develop catching, throwing, and kicking skills by a specific age. However, if children have not attempted any of these activities by age 4, they may have difficulties keeping up with their peers.

• Tell parents that organized sports, which require visual acuity, control, and balance, are inappropriate for children less than 6 years old because they need time to develop their motor skills.

Injury Prevention

• Emphasize that children should be supervised when they participate in physical activity.

• Emphasize the importance of safety equipment (e.g., helmets, goggles) when children participate in physical activity. (See the Injury chapter.)

• Emphasize the importance of reducing children's exposure to sunlight while playing outdoors and thus their risk of developing skin cancer. Recommend that parents practice preventive strategies such as (1) applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) rating of 15 or greater to children's exposed skin 30 minutes before they go outdoors, (2) reapplying sunscreen every 2 hours, and (3) ensuring that children wear broad-spectrum child-sized sunglasses and brimmed hats and clothing that protect the skin as much as possible.

Safety

• If the safety of the environment or neighborhood is a concern, help parents find other settings for physical activity (e.g., Boys and Girls Clubs of America, recreation centers, churches and other places of worship).

• Remind parents that children can do many activities indoors with soft equipment that can be used in tight spaces (e.g., playing tag or hide-and-seek, tossing a ball, crawling through an obstacle course).

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