I am not here to demonize technology or discuss the merits of screen time limits; that is for the individual family to do. I am here to paint the picture of where we may be headed if we don’t take deliberate steps to cultivate our children’s relationship with movement and play in their natural environments.   

Various studies completed around the globe have done the heavy lifting: looking into the past, present, and future children of the world and their physical activity. While the numbers vary slightly, few of them set an optimistic scene regarding physical activity: 

• 1 in 5 adolescents meet international physical activity guidelines (Faigenbaum et al., 2023)

• Declining sports participation rates among US adolescents (Deng and Fan, 2022)

• Endurance, strength, and flexibility in youth ranging from four to 18 years old are declining, with conflicting results on speed and coordination (Eberhardt et al., 2020)

Physical activity is continually shown to have positive effects on many different facets of our health. These effects include but aren’t limited to stronger bones, healthier hearts and even increases in self-esteem.

Frederick Douglass is credited with the poignant line “It is easier to build strong children than fix broken men”, which fits right in with why this article was written in the first place. Getting kids to move and play early and often in their lifetime leads to healthier habits as they develop into adults and later into their lifetime.

Resources

1. Faigenbaum AD, Ratamess NA, Kang J, Bush JA, Rial Rebullido T. May the Force Be with Youth: Foundational Strength for Lifelong Development. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2023;22(12):414-422. Published 2023 Dec 1. doi:10.1249/JSR.0000000000001122

2. Deng Y, Fan A. Trends in sports participation in adolescents: Data from a large-scale sample in the US adolescents. Frontiers in Public Health. 2022 Oct 31;10:960098.

3. Eberhardt T, Niessner C, Oriwol D, Buchal L, Worth A, Bös K. Secular trends in physical fitness of children and adolescents: a review of large-scale epidemiological studies published after 2006. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2020 Aug;17(16):5671.