Physical Activity During Early Childhood: The Importance of ParentalModeling

摘要

Increasing physical activity (PA) is a critical issue in improving overallhealth. Prior attempts by public health campaigns to promote PA throughhealth-focused messaging have faced challenges. As PA and sedentary behaviorsare developed during the early childhood period (ages 0 to 5 years), this stagerepresents a unique opportunity for clinicians to encourage activity at thefamily level. Clinicians should discuss the holistic benefits of PA, includingthe development of social skills and relationships, motor skills that could beapplicable to sports later in life, and cognitive skills that could translate toacademic achievements in school. For PA to occur in children, parents shouldalso be engaged in and model the PA behaviors, increasing the likelihood ofyoung children learning to be physically active.