Children are growing weaker and unfit

[Batteryhuman]

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/may/21/children-weaker-computers-replace-activity

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised by this research but it is not good news.

I was most saddened that when asked to do a "wall bars test" not only could 10% of children tested not do it but another 10% wouldn't even try.

[fairydoll]

My DDs both do gymnastics and are very strong.When the little one (5) does the monkey bars in the park people gawp and clap 'at that little girl'.
I am very proud but think its sad that it's obviously not the norm

[nightingale452]

My 9 year old DD1 can't do the monkey bars and never has been able to. She's not a particularly active child, never has been one to run everywhere like DD2, but she does do 3 hours of dancing classes a week which I encourage as it's the only time she's really active.

I feel the main problem with her lack of activity is school - the playground is a small square of tarmac (or in the summer this plus an area of grass) with absolutely nothing on it - I feel she's justified in finding playtimes boring, I think she and her friends just sit around, there isn't anything to do, and as there are so many children in a small space running around isn't particularly encouraged.

She's been wearing a pedometer for the last few days (DH is doing some fitness drive at work so she's been joining in) and I was horrified at how few steps she does during the school day (which, for a 9 year old, is most of the day). She only got over 10,000 once. We do our best with walking, but we live opposite school and quite a distance from anything else, so walking's not always practical. I would welcome daily PE at school - it seems to be the first thing dropped if anything else is to be done. Last week I questioned the fact that her PE T-shirt was clearly unworn and she told me she had to miss PE to finish a piece of work - I'd actually rather she did the PE!

[bidibidi]

What a load of judgeypants you lot are . I spent many days of my 1970s childhood playing out or walking miles with my dog. Scrambling around in the bush. DC rarely "play out", and spend a lot of time watching videos, playing computer games and winding each other up browsing online (shopping).

DC are all fitter, stronger, faster and much more sporty than I ever was or could ever be. They can swim better, run faster, climb anything, handle balls -- and monkey bars, blardy brilliant at them in particular. I could never do any of that. They win or place well in cross country races (I struggled and still struggle not to be dead last). DD is being recruited for the swim club (I could never learn to swim properly until I was an adult). The only fitness event at school where I could achieve as high as "average" was situps. Everything else I was appallingly bad at.

[all4u]

The issue here is that modern urban life does not enable exercise - particularly when security issues are added into the mix. We moved from London to a Welsh hill farm on getting married two decades ago and our children have been brought up with the outdoors as part of their home (the house is a tiny cottage two-up two-down so they have to get out!). What with Mountain biking, ponies, herding sheep, climbing the hills around us 'to get away from it all' as well as ballet and fencing they are very fit and slim. But at school the PE teachers tend to be disparaging because they are not into team ball sports so they are treated like the couch potatoes - they conclude that that is just weird PE teacher behaviour and aren't bovvered! I hope these habits will set them up for an active life even if they end up in an urban environment They are not interested in X-boxes, Gameboys, etc but FB a lot. Probably starting them young is the thing as it is increasingly difficult to influence teenagers.

[sieglinde]

You know, if I had posted to say that fifty years ago kids could do more Latin and harder French/English than they can today, you would all have rounded on me with cries of evil elitism and backwardness; suddenly, though, because this is about sport, a decline in performance is a tragedy. Why on earth does it matter if kids can do the monkey bars? It's not the same as the problem of childhood obesity, which must be to do with regular exercise/calories in/out, and attempts to equate them are not credible.

[Lostinherts]

One thing I have noticed is the amount of time children remain in pushchairs, at least until 3 and often, even at nursery school age!! My youngest never went in a pram unless ill or fast asleep (both rare) after age one and a half, went on combo of tricycles, scooters and bike with stabilisers. My other two were encouraged to walk long-ish distances as soon as they were able and now are very muscular and fit. Pass the monkey bar test like small paras in training. Get outta the buggies! Developing muscle starts early.

[lljkk]

Oh Gawd, don't start that one again (strollers).
Mine are muscular & fit. Must be because they used stroller until nearly 5yo.

[fairydoll]

sieglinde- being unfit is more hazardous to health than being overweight

[Ryoko]

Got nothing to do with consoles, I had consoles when I was a kid, I still fucked off out for hours on end vanishing off on my bike going off for miles on end and coming back when it was dark.

Kids just don't do that anymore, it's a whole brainwashing thing, it's implanted by the media in the minds of parents and kids, back in the 80's we was never worried about going out, ask a kid today about it and even the under tens have heard the stories and seen the news, they think something will happen to them, the parents are just as bad, it's all subconscious brainwashing.

[fatlazymummy]

I have noticed children play differently nowadays. When I was a little girl we used to spend hours skipping [great cardiovascular ], apparently they don't do that very much now, also playing rounders, hopscotch etc. There again a lot of adults are less active so it's not surprising it filters down to kids.

[lljkk]

90s, Ryoko, the change came in in the late 90s & early 00s. Following the Bulger case, the Soham murders & the high media coverage of single unusual & extreme cases (eg MMcCann); there are people on here who spent their 90s childhood outdoors, out of touch & unsupervised all day.

[fairydoll]

schools not having playing fields, people living in housing where they don't have gardens or suitable safe outside play areas, cost of swimming/sports classes are all major factors.
i do think schools need to address the problem as , children spend so much of their waking hours there,especially in winter when it gets dark as soon as they're home from school.
I think there should be state funding for poor children to access sports opportinities.

[lljkk]

Greater wealth, more people have cars and don't hesitate to hop in them for every shopping trip and at any sign of rain.