Government tells children to ‘get moving’
Fri 28 April 2006
Gail Loader, Journalism
The government has invested $116 million into a campaign to increase children’s activity, as obesity threatens to become the health epidemic of the new millennium.
The ‘Building a Healthy Active Australia’ (BAHAA) initiative will run over four years to address the rapidly increasing levels of inactivity and obesity in Australian children.
In 2000 research showed that almost 25 per cent of children and adolescents in Australia were overweight or obese.
Part of this initiative is the ‘Get Moving’ program with its ‘big red chair’ mascot. It encourages children to include an hour of physical activity in each day and limit television and computer use.
The program involves a nationwide media campaign, and working with schools and community groups to create activity programs.
Matt Collins, a sports science student and gym instructor for the Nambour Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC), co-ordinates an activities program which is funded by BAHAA as part of its Active After-school Communities program.
Mr Collins, who runs ‘Fatburners’ Personal Training, believes the funding and the campaign are a good starting point, but not a solution to the problem.
The PCYC program aims to get the children participating in all aspects of the activities.
“It is not just about sport with its win/lose mentality,” Mr Collins said.
We ask the children to make the rules and tell us how we can make it better, so they will enjoy it more, Mr Collins said.
It is important not to categorise any activity, such as telling a child they must do an hour each day, because then it becomes work. The activity should be fun. Children spend hours playing computer games because it is fun, Mr Collins said.
Parents need to make their children a priority, even if they are busy, and seek out activities that their children enjoy.
“Kids don’t care if it’s making them fit,”Mr Collins said.
When children find an activity they like, they do it because they want to and then reap all the benefits including improved health and social skills, Mr Collins said.
Parents are creating lifestyle patterns for their children. If they spend their spare time watching television, their children will most likely watch television also.
Mr Collins stated that the increased access to technology and modern lifestyle patterns are the key issues. In the past, playing a computer game meant you had to go to the arcade and pay money for the game.
“Now games are in your lounge, in your hand,” Mr Collins said.
While technology is designed to make life easier physically, lack of physical activity causes fitness to decline. We need to be making life harder, not easier, for our health, Mr Collins said.
Full time environmental science student and single father, Peter Donoghoe, believes regular activity is vital. His children, Chantelle, 11, and Joshua, 9, both attend regular karate lessons and surf, swim and skate. Joshua also plays rugby union for the Maleny under 10 squad.
Mr Donoghoe says that parents are responsible for getting children active, not the government. He believes some parents have become lazy and use television and computer games as a child minder.
He was shocked recently when one of his children’s school friends visited and sang all the theme songs of the afternoon television shows. Apparently, each afternoon the friend spent his time watching television.
“My kids are rarely home before early evening…we’re always doing something,” Mr Donoghoe said.
Image(s) designed by Gail Loader
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Submitted Comments
Once again the lesson is that life decisions start in the home and should be complemented by school curriculum. Be involved with your kids,; you may even find you enjoy it and form stronger bonds with them. Your children don't want 'quality' time, they want 'quantity' time with you.
John Hammond
It's good to see that the government is taking the initiative to help parents get the children's interest in exercising again. But although the focus is on children, they should also be focusing on pre-teen and teens as they are at risk as well. It is time we all started being more active for all of our health.
Corrine Bourne