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Tuning In
15 Strategies for Focusing Children's Energy
By Cara J. Stevens
10. Take a mental break. "Physical activity can increase self-esteem and help kids handle stress, thus increasing their capacity for learning," says Charlene Burgeson, executive director of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) in Reston, Va. "The integration of physical activity into the classroom can give kids the mental and physical break that they need."
11. Get kids moving. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education has new guidelines for physical activity levels for children ages 5 to 12. Children should engage in 60 minutes to several hours of age-appropriate physical activity almost every day, broken into at least 15-minute sessions. Additionally, children should never be inactive for more than two hours at a time, especially during the day.
12. Extracurricular activities shouldn't interfere with school. "If the activities interfere with academic work, it's too much," Song says. A child should never come to school with the excuse that he could not do his work because he was at softball practice or ice skating.
13. Avoid burnout. "How many activities are too many depends on the age and personality of the child/adolescent," Burgeson says. If your child does not want to do some or all of the activities, or seems overtired, pare down. "Over-programming may result in 'burn out,' and being physically active is an important lifetime behavior."
14. Take cues from your kids