No doubt that COVID-19 has transformed all of our lives as we’re forced to stay home and adjust to a new reality. But what about our kids? How are they doing in all of this?
Online school is a good alternative for the time being, but it doesn’t change the fact that kids have had so much taken away from them by this pandemic. Play dates, playground visits, sports practices, birthday parties…just to name a few. What do these have in common? Social interaction and physical activity. These two components usually come into play at recess and during P.E. class….but those are gone too.
The lack of recess and P.E. is a bigger problem than you may think.
The American Academy of Pediatrics considers recess an essential and planned break from difficult cognitive tasks, that gives kids time to play, imagine, think, move, and socialize, and P.E. helps them develop their physical abilities while providing well-recognized benefits for personal and academic performance. Kids do much better on tests after recess or P.E.
But now kids are stuck at home, expected to sit on Zoom for hours and learn, without many planned breaks for physical activity and social interaction. No wonder they’re complaining…it’s a set up for unproductivity and going crazy.
So, that is why I decided to create 416 Kids Online. Every day I coach kids online in real time so that they get to move with purpose. At the surface, it’s 30 minutes where they get to play games, interact with other kids, and burn some energy. But at the same time, it involves learning unweighted foundational movements that get them stronger, more confident, and sets them up to move well and excel in any sports or physical activities that they pursue. Plus, if playing “jumping jack trivia” with kids from 3 different countries and doing kangaroo hops to the song “It’s Raining Tacos” isn’t a good time…then I don’t know what is.
Give your kids what they need most right now! Sign them up for 416 Kids Online for the best 30 minutes of their day, while you enjoy your lunch break.
