Health and fitness technologies, such as apps, activity trackers and websites, are a growing presence in our everyday lives. When used properly, these technologies can be powerful tools for helping people develop better health habits. But do they offer the same benefits for children? Although there will always be some debate surrounding kids and technology,…
Picture you and your friends flying around in laser-powered jet packs through imagination-bending surroundings, acting out your dreams of becoming superheroes. Thanks to video-game technology, you can experience all of this and more in a convincingly realistic way without even leaving your couch. Every day, millions of children are doing just that. Various survey-based research…
Humans have a unique problem. We’re born “too soon.” Consider infants from other species. Most of them come out of the womb (or egg) and can almost immediately function for survival. While they lack some critical skills, they can immediately move around, seek food and perform other survival- based tasks. Human babies are another story….
According to the 2016 United States Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, Americans should be grounded without access to video games, cell phone or TV for at least a month. Not only would this give us time to “think about what we did,” but it might contribute to solving a bigger problem….
ACE Advocacy and Outreach Financially supporting your children is part of the imaginary contract you sign when you become a parent, but we all know this can be a struggle for a lot of families. Unfortunately, tight family budgets can make it difficult to pay for the extracurricular activities kids want to participate in, like youth sport…
Youth need regular opportunities to be physically active. Unfortunately, schools are not meeting their needs through physical education classes and recess, and many children and adolescents live in neighborhoods with limited space and options for safe, age-appropriate physical activity outside of school hours. To address this topic, the American Council on Exercise and the Alliance…
Regular physical activity in childhood and adolescence is important for motor development and overall health and fitness. Additionally, solid physical activity behaviors in the early years can help to set a foundation for life-long exercise adherence and an appreciation for physical activity. Unfortunately, most kids are not getting enough exercise. In 2016, only 21.6% of…
When it comes to kids and strength training, parents often want to know at what age their children should start lifting weights. Urban legends of stunted growth, fractured growth plates and prematurely inflated physiques have made many parents understandably hesitant when it comes to involving prepubescent kids in resistance-training programs. Tall tales and fear-mongering aside,…
Youth training is more popular than ever. This may be attributed, in part, to the fact that over the past three decades, childhood obesity has significantly increased, predisposing many children to health problems and chronic disease (Xu et al., 2016; Copeland et al., 2013; Springer et al., 2013). This has raised awareness regarding exercise in…
Resistance training is essential for optimal growth and development in the youth population and has shown to be safe and effective (Faigenbaum et al., 2009). This form of training can provide significant benefits within this group, which may have a substantial impact on future participation in physical activity and decrease risk of health complications. Furthermore,…