Maia’s mom, Kari, runs a network of outdoor play groups at ActiveKidsClub.com, so it’s not surprising Maia’s imagination is wired this way. “When we go up in trees it’s like we’re in a clubhouse,” Maia says. “You can stand without falling. And sometimes people find some eggs.”
Owen Cumming of Toronto has a similarly gleeful attitude. As the school year wound down, the almost-11-year-old was itching for summer. “I get pretty jumpy waiting,” he says.
His break is all about swimming and water sports including sailing and kayaking – some at the cottage and some at camp. The learning curve has been swift, he says, so while he will spend some time on technique, it’s mostly fun.
A squash camp he just attended included outdoor training so kids wouldn’t miss out on sunshine. “It’s really good for your health, but it’s also really fun being with your friends doing stuff.”
Even in the realm of organized sports, experts are trying to lighten up and focus more on the magic of motion.
John Hyland, head coach at the North Toronto Soccer Club, runs a number of outdoor camps and is trying to move away from non-stop competition and toward more broad physical literacy.
“House league drives me nuts,” says Mr. Hyland, a recent transplant from Britain. “It’s ‘Throw them on the field; parents will scream, shout from the sidelines, score! score! score!’ … The competitive thing is driven from the youngest ages, and there’s no ability to play the sport and enjoy it for longer.”
The new thinking is inspired by Victoria-based sport consultant Istvan Balyi (Malcom Gladwell popularized his assertion that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in a sport) and an initiative of his called “long-term athlete development.”
LTAD guidelines aim to foster a love of being active as well as creating better building blocks for careers as elite athletes, all with less injury and burnout.
The idea came to him while working with the Canadian Alpine Ski team. He asked Olympic and world champions to do simple gymnastics – front and back rolls. They were either terrible or completely unable to do them, he says. “So imagine, all these Olympians lacking fundamental movement skills.”
Just as educators use age-appropriate teaching tools, parents and coaches should be versed in the movements right for each stage of childhood. “We are imposing adult programs on developing athletes,” he says. “We don’t consider developmentally appropriate programs.”
A number of sports organizations and government bodies are adopting his plan.
Mr. Balyi advises children to switch up their activities seasonally to cover land, water and snow.
While the grown-ups worry about such things, children like Maia rely on the simple logic of childhood to explain what works for them. Just ask her about the merits of a summer spent outside: “Inside, you can’t really bike,” she says.
SLOTH BY THE NUMBERS
– 9 per cent of boys and 4 per cent of girls meet the new Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines of 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity.
– 44 per cent of kids get that 3 days a week; 78 per cent get 30 minutes three times a week.
– Sport participation rates in Canadians aged 15-18 fell from 77 per cent in 1992 to 59 per cent in 2005.
– Kids in European countries take almost 2,400 more steps per day than Canadian kids.
– Only 37 per cent of parents regularly engage in physical activity with their kids; 64 per centtake their children somewhere to be active.
– 71 per cent of kids aged 6-9, 83 per cent of those 10-13, and 76 per cent of 14-17-year-olds play sports at least once a week.
– 25 per cent of children get 3-4 phys-ed classes a week. Only 2 per cent of girls and 3 per cent of boys spend at least half the class in moderate to vigorous physical activity.
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Sources: Statistics Canada, the Canada Health Measures Survey, Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Institute for Health Information, American Academy of Pediatrics, Active Healthy Kids Canada, ParticipACTION.
