Physical Activity and Health Promotion in the Early Years: Effective Strategies for Early Childhood Educators

293 Pages·2018·4.36 MB·English

by  Hannah Brewer

Educating the Young Child
Advances in Theory and Research, Implications for Practice
Hannah Brewer · Mary Renck Jalongo
Editors
Physical Activity and
Health Promotion in
the Early Years
Eff ective Strategies for Early Childhood
Educators
Educating the Young Child
Advances in Theory and Research, Implications
for Practice
Volume 14
Series Editors
Mary Renck Jalongo, Journal and Book Series Editor Springer
Emerita, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Joan P. Isenberg, Emerita, George Mason University
Kin Wai Michael Siu, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Editorial Board
Dr. Paul Andrews, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Dr. Wanda Boyer, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
Dr. Jonathan Brendefur, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
Dr. Paul Caldarella, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Dr. Natalie K. Conrad Barnyak, University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, PA, USA
Dr. Marjory Ebbeck, University of South Australia, Magill, Australia
Dr. Adam S. Kennedy, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Dr. Jean Kirnan, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, USA
Dr. Jane D. Lanigan, Washington State University Vancouver, WA, USA
Dr. Marilyn J. Narey, Narey Educational Consulting, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Dr. Jyotsna Pattnaik, University of California at Long Beach, Huntington Beach,
CA, USA
Dr. D. Ray Reutzel, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
Dr. Louise Swiniarski, Salem State College, Salem, MA, USA
Dr. Judit Szente, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
Dr. Barbara Wasik, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
This academic and scholarly book series will focus on the education and development
of young children from infancy through eight years of age. The series will provide
a synthesis of current theory and research on trends, issues, controversies, and
challenges in the early childhood field and examine implications for practice. One
hallmark of the series will be comprehensive reviews of research on a variety of
topics with particular relevance for early childhood educators worldwide. The
mission of the series is to enrich and enlarge early childhood educators’ knowledge,
enhance their professional development, and reassert the importance of early
childhood education to the international community. The audience for the series
includes college students, teachers of young children, college and university faculty,
and professionals from fields other than education who are unified by their
commitment to the care and education of young children. In many ways, the
proposed series is an outgrowth of the success of Early Childhood Education
Journal which has grown from a quarterly magazine to a respected and international
professional journal that is published six times a year.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7205
Hannah Brewer • Mary Renck Jalongo
Editors
Physical Activity and Health
Promotion in the Early Years
Effective Strategies for Early Childhood
Educators
Editors
Hannah Brewer Mary Renck Jalongo
Department of Physical and Health Journal and Book Series Editor Springer
Education
Emerita, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, PA, USA
Slippery Rock, PA, USA
Educating the Young Child
ISBN 978-3-319-76004-9 ISBN 978-3-319-76006-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76006-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018940438
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Foreword
In recent years, I served as a content advisor for the longest-running children’s tele-
vision program, Sesame Street. Although I was well-acquainted with the Muppets
and the program that airs weekly in my community, delving further into the group’s
work made me aware not only of the international footprint of Sesame Street but
also their work in health and wellness. It was interesting to discover that they had
produced a series of programs on “heart healthy” habits that aired in the USA,
Canada, and Columbia. Underlying this initiative were at least two assumptions.
First, that the early years are an opportunity to teach wellness concepts and establish
healthy habits, and second, that encouraging regular physical activity and minimiz-
ing sedentary behavior are ways to counteract obesity and disease. This volume in
the Educating the Young Child Series adopts a similar stance. The distinguished and
diverse group of authors assembled here is unified by the conviction that the habit
of physical activity, launched during in the early years, can exert a powerful and
positive impact on young children’s health and fitness.
Why Be Concerned About Young Children’s Physical
Activity?
Where physical activity is concerned, there exists a persistent misconception that
young children are “naturally” active and require no systematic opportunities,
encouragement, or instruction to have a healthy lifestyle. Clearly, this is not the
case. Internationally, there is concern that children are leading more sedentary lives,
have much higher rates of obesity, and are setting in motion habits that will lead to
compromised health (Carson et al., 2010; World Health Organization, 2012). It has
been argued that contemporary young children are less fit and less active than ever
before (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2016). How has this happened? Outside
of school, vigorous activity for children often is restricted for a variety of reasons.
Concerns about safety often keep children indoors rather than outdoors playing with
v
vi Foreword
neighborhood children. Once inside, children tend to devote many hours to “screen
time” with television, computers, smartphones, and electronic games, making them
sedentary for much of the day. Moreover, many parents/guardians work long hours
or multiple jobs, continue to be “wired in” and work after they arrive home, have
household duties to perform, or are just too exhausted to be physically active after
work. As a result, adults in the home may not provide models of moderate-to-
vigorous physical activity on a regular basis. Studies also have suggested that many
parents feel that they lack knowledge about how to encourage physical activity in
their children, other than enrolling them in some sort of class or organized sports.
Many of these programs are not well-suited for very young children
Opportunities to be physically active in educational settings are restricted as
well. Few programs are meeting the “minimum daily requirement” of exercise for
children. The Institute of Medicine (2011) recommends at least 15 minutes of phys-
ical activity for every hour spent in child care in order to prevent obesity. Yet, at the
very time when research clearly documents the positive effects of both planned and
informal physical activity on children’s overall health, many schools are reducing
the amount of time allocated to vigorous physical activity (Ramstetter, Murray &
Garner, 2010). In addition, both the pressure to attain higher academic standards
and pressing budgetary considerations have reduced or eliminated many physical
education classes. Few early childhood programs have the services of teachers with
specialized expertise in physical education so this responsibility frequently is rele-
gated to teachers who lack the preparation, skills, confidence, materials, and envi-
ronments to lead children in physical activity.
Another damaging attitude toward children’s physical activity is a “talent scout”
mentality in which only those children who appear to be gifted and talented athleti-
cally are given extensive support to develop their skills. Too often, children whose
physical skills are regarded by adults as ordinary or deficient in some way are
excluded if, for example, play areas are inaccessible to young children with special
needs or if teachers fail to make the necessary accommodations that give everyone
a chance to participate. Even adults who are physically active themselves may be
misguided and focus on competition with others rather than performing at one’s
personal best. This type of bias should be no more tolerated in the realm of oppor-
tunities for physical skill development than it is in opportunities for intellectual skill
development. Collectively, these influences can undermine the goal of promoting
active lifestyles for everyone.
What Is the Contribution of This Volume?
An appreciation for the healthy mind and body connection has existed for centuries.
In ancient Rome Mens sana in corpore sano (“a sound mind in a sound body”) was
a goal for all citizens. This volume takes that ancient wisdom, applies it to the
youngest children, and supports it with current empirical and international evi-
dence—all with an eye toward improving wellness across the lifespan. The benefits
Foreword vii
of physical activity for young children have attracted national attention as countries
take action to promote health in their youngest citizens (Alberta Accreditation of
Early Learning and Care Services, 2013; Centers for Disease Control, 2010). For
example, when it was determined that one in five young children in New South
Wales, Australia is obese, the country launched the Healthy Kids Eat Well, Be
Active (New South Wales Ministry of Health, 2013) initiative. Their team con-
cluded that more active, healthy habits benefit children by:
• Promoting healthy growth and development
• Helping to achieve and maintain a healthy weight
• Building strong bones and muscles
• Improving cardiovascular fitness
• Improving balance, coordination, and strength
• Maintaining and developing flexibility
• Improving posture
• Assisting with the development of gross motor and fine motor skills
• Providing the opportunity to develop fundamental movement skills
• Helping to establish connections between different parts of the brain
• Improving concentration and thinking skills
• Improving confidence and self-esteem
• Relieving stress and promoting relaxation
• Providing opportunities to develop social skills and make friends
• Improving sleep
Empirical evidence from various fields to support such assertions is mounting
(Bowers, Green, Hemme & Chalip, 2014; Jensen, 2005; Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011).
Collectively, these sources document that participation not only in structured but
also in informal physical activity can set in motion habits and attitudes that affect all
areas of development commencing in early childhood and continuing throughout
life (Lu and Montague, 2016; Spark!, 2016).
Audience for the Book
In reviewing the literature on physical activity and wellness, we identified two
major shortcomings. First of all, there were very few books on the topic that focused
on the age group of this volume, birth to eight years. This made most of the publica-
tions less applicable to the youngest children who are acquiring fundamental move-
ment abilities. These include locomotor (e.g., walking, running, jumping, skipping),
nonlocomotor (e.g., turning, twisting, nodding), and manipulative (e.g., throwing,
catching, dribbling) (Robinson, 2011) (e.g., walk, hop, skip) rather than orchestrat-
ing sophisticated physical behavior repertoires, such as those required for participa-
tion in organized sports. Secondly, of the few books published, many of them were
written for an audience of educators specializing in physical education rather than a
more general population of teachers. Given that it is the “regular” early childhood
viii Foreword
educator who most often is expected to plan and provide physical activity for young
children, we saw a need to gather together experts in the field who could make the
theory, research, and practice accessible to those without specialized preparation in
physical education. Ideally, physical activity and healthful eating initiatives at home
and at school during the early years would:
• Support development of “fundamental movement abilities” that affect coordina-
tion, balance, and attainment of physical education goals
• Contribute to every child’s self-concept and self-expression
• Enhance the development of academic skills as children learn to self-monitor
and solve problems
• Build social skills as children learn to interpret gestures and the physical move-
ments of others
• Address the “obesity epidemic” in a proactive way
• Shape the young child’s attitudes, values, beliefs, and habits about physical
activity in ways that affect lifelong habits (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2016)
Organization of the Volume
The book is organized into three sections: (1) Foundations of Physical Activity and
Health Promotion in Early Childhood, (2) Research-Based Teaching Strategies to
Promote Physical Activity and Health During Early Childhood, and (3) Physical
Activity Programs and Preservice/Inservice Teacher Education. The chapters are
replete with evidence-based strategies that support the efforts of early childhood
educators in various roles, including child care providers, classroom teachers, pre-
service educators, parent/family educators, and higher education faculty members.
Conclusion
Increasingly, it is being argued that there is yet another type of literacy: physical
literacy (McNulty & Prosser, 2011). It includes a repertoire of behaviors, habits, and
wisdom about what bodies need to be healthy and well and, as with other types of
literacy (e.g., print, information, technology), physical literacy requires major
investments of time and support. Young children need much more than admonitions
from adults in order to achieve this goal. To illustrate, I observed two preschool girls
playing together in the block center. They had built a school and a home, and now a
small wooden figure, used to represent a child, was returning home for an after-
school snack. The child playing the mother’s role said, “Annah, let’s get a good
snack for you” to which the preschooler playing the role of the child said, “OK, I
want candy.” The first child protested, saying, “No, Annah. You have to say some-
thing that’s good for you” and her playmate answered, “But I like candy. It’s good.”
Foreword ix
As the second child’s candid comment suggests, it is not enough to tell children to
be active and make more healthful choices. We need to practice it ourselves because
it is one of those dispositions that is acquired, over time, primarily by emulating
positive role models. This means that early childhood educators will need to reach
out to families and communities. Early childhood educators worldwide will need to
work together to advocate for the young child’s wellness of body just as assiduously
as they have advocated for developing the young child’s intelligence and socioemo-
tional skills. To that end, we bring to you this informative, expert, and interesting
volume of the Educating the Young Child. We chose the edited book format so that
we could bring together a chorus of expert opinion from different areas of special-
ization, all united by a focus on promoting the young child’s physical literacy. In
keeping with the goal of the series, our distinguished group of authors discusses
advances in theory and research and demonstrates how they are using that evidence
to improve professional practice and collaborate with families.
Journal and Book Series Editor Springer Mary Renck Jalongo
Emerita, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, PA, USA
References
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literacy. Retrieved November 1, 2016, from http://www.aelcs.ca/Announcements/Reflective_
Bulletins/Documents/The Importance of Physical Literacy.pdf
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2016). Early Childhood: 1–4 years. Retrieved November 1,
2016 from http://www.brightfutures.org/physicalactivity/pdf/EarlyChild.pdf
Bowers, M. T., Green, B. C., Hemme, F., & Chalip, L. (2014). Assessing the relationship between
youth sport participation settings and creativity in adulthood. Creativity Research Journal,
26(3), 314–327.
Carson, V., Clark, D., Ogden, N., Harber, V., & Kuzik, N. (2010). Short-term influence of revised
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