Physical Activity for School-Aged Kids
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Non Competitive Activities for 7 yo
I'd like to get my seven year old into a group, non-competitive athletic activities. He's getting a little chunky, and I'd like him to be involved in something physical, but not competitive.. He gets too intense about it and doesn't have a lot of athletic talent, so it leads to him getting upset. He really likes the water and I thought he might enjoy a swim team but he told me he didn't like that idea...
How about dance classes? This is usually a group thing, and there are so few boys that any competition would be minimal at this point. Dawn
I'd recommend Head Over Heals Gymnastics. I think it is an activity that all ages love and is noncompetitive. It can be a little expensive, though, about 70/month (4-5 one hour classes). Ruth
For the chunky 7-year-old, I can't speak highly enough of the martial arts, especially at West Wind in Berkeley, Alameda, Daly City or Vallejo. Most kids that age love karate and the only competition is personal. Barbara
I'd recommend hiking. We've been hiking with my girls since the older (7 years) was born. You'll definitely need to develop your own set of motivational games--we play hide and seek, I spy, tell stories, etc. A good place to go is Abbot's Lagoon, at Pt. Reyes, because you hike in maybe a mile to these big dunes that kids love to climb up and down, up and down, for hours. Also good is the Berkeley Marina, the loop section, there's a sculpture at the end that the kids love to climb on. There are millions of places that kids can hike around here. An added benefit is that you get some exercise too. It's good for self-confidence for the less athletically inclined, because once the kid develops some stamina, s/he can feel good at putting in some miles. My seven year old did a six mile hike, with lots of ups and downs, on our recent vacation and can carry her own backpack for backpacking trips--and she's a bit on the plump side and not a gifted athlete! Meghan
Here is a recommendation for a non-competitive physical activity for the 8-12 yr old set.... As the parent of a relatively inactive, non-sports focused child (age 9), I have encouraged my jazzercise teachers to offer a course designed and tailored to the 8-12 year old set (boys and girls are welcome). Here are the details Junior Jazzercise, offered Saturdays, from 1130-1215, from Oct 14 through Nov 18. Six sessions for $60, at Jacuzzi Street Jazzercise, 5237 Jacuzzi Street, in Richmond, between highways 80 and 580, off Central Avenue. From Berkeley drive east on Marin, stay right instead of going over the overpass, and curve along to the right by the water. Drive a short distance to the Central Avenue shopping center, which is on your left, and that's where Jazzercise is! It's a seven minute drive from Marin and The Alameda. Come to the studio to pre-register by October 7! Adult classes are offered seven days a week M-F at 815 and 930 a.m. and 515 and 630 p.m., Saturday at 830 and 10 a.m. and Sunday at 930 a.m. I discovered this center through several parents and the P.E. teacher at Jefferson Elem, and this seems to me to be a much beloved center serving (in the adult classes) adults from their 20's into their 70's (and maybe beyond). The teachers have good dance instruction background, there are a number of people in class who have had years of dance experience, along with absolute beginners. All body types and levels of fitness present. No mirrors, just a lot of fun, and a good workout. Seven days a week. Melissa
This is not typical of a 5 year old. I would be sure to discuss with his doctor. Also honestly a 5 year old having that level of time on games seems really high to me. That was what we did in middle school in tens of screen time. That may be some of what’s affecting his energy level. I would try to engage him in activities with his friends or have him join some non team activities such as swimming, scouts, D and D club, etc.
My daughter was not into physical activity throughout her entire childhood, We tried ballet, karate, gymnastics, nothing stuck. She hated any thing that smacked of competition and therefore all physical activity was out, apparently. Now she lives in Yosemite and skis every single day that she can. Usually four days a week. She loves it and was surprised to learn that it is considered exercise. First, I would encourage you not to push your son into anything you might call physical exercise. Also, you might do whatever it is with him. So take him for short hikes with a stop for hot chocolate afterwards. Go back to the stuff he enjoyed as a small child. Playing catch. Frisbee is a great one really easy and also fun. Plus you can bring one anywhere. Good luck, don’t stress, and keep limiting the screen time.
OP here, just an update as this is a fluid situation... we don't allow computer games during the week now. But he is allowed about 30 minutes of digital learning time on his app using my computer on weekdays. On weekends, he is allowed to play 1 hour of computer games and also have a movie. I also talked to the pediatrician, who recommended creating a family media plan from the AAP. He also has a small digital camera that has simple games and video playback (a gift from a family friend, something we wished hadn't happened lol), but these we don't count towards the screentime. Maybe we should? But he only plays them for 5 minutes or takes pictures of his pizza, then gets bored. I would love to hear how other families have balanced the introduction to digital learning and entertainment in the elementary ages. Thanks!
Keep trying different activities! My 2nd grader sounds similar, and we've tried several classes, teams and activities with varying degrees of enjoyment but mostly middling-- soccer (meh), basketball (YES, but only after the second try when she developed solid camaraderie with teammates), dance, martial arts (No), swimming, biking, skateboarding camp (No), rollerblading, biking. She's expressed being open to tennis so we'll try to sign up for that next. I don't frame physical activity as a "nice to have", we frame it as something that you just DO multiple times a week-- for health and fun-- but as basic, like washing your hair or helping around the house.
On weekends, we go out as a family to be active together -- we try to give choices (Would you rather bike, scoot or rollerblade?). We've gotten both adult scooters and rollerblades since having kids so we can keep up. Some evenings if we have 20 minutes before bedtime, we'll do a dance party and I'll let her choose the music. We often have to listen to a LOT OF complaining before activities, but during/after she sometimes enjoys or at least goes along with minimum whining. "Love" is great, but I'll take "Is OK with" or "Doesn't hate" as long as she's forming healthy habits.
For screentime, we basically limit it to right before dinnertime so that the transition is easier and so that we're generally getting out in the morning or early afternoon. For the weekdays, screentime ends up being 0-30 minutes; weekends it depends on how quickly they get their other stuff done (homework, laundry folding, picking up toys) but is realistically max 1.5 hours. BTW, we count our digital camera, school laptop time and Khan Academy for Kids as screentime. It just gets too complicated trying to dissect it all otherwise. They all have the same addictive quality.