What kind of an exercise identity is your child building for him or herself?  What are you doing to help build it? What is your school doing? I talk a lot about how one of the goals of Fit Kids is to leave children with a positive association with exercise, so they’ll want to keep it in their lives. For example, I meet so many people who tell me, I’ve never been sporty, I was always that kid trying to get out of doing Phys Ed, so it’s really hard for me to get to gym. And, I meet people who tell me that they can’t remember ever not having exercise as a part of their lives, ever since ..read more

Researchers are finding more and more evidence to support the theory that exercise improves brain function and cognition, meaning that exercise makes children smarter. According to this JAMA Network review, ‘In addition to the positive physical and mental health impact of physical activity, there is a strong belief that regular participation in physical activity is linked to enhancement of brain function and cognition, thereby positively influencing academic performance.’ What does this mean for our children? If you want them to succeed at school, your children ne ..read more

I have an allergic reaction to entitlement – it really is the worst of our modern culture’s failings. What is entitlement? The belief that one has a right to receive better treatment or privileges or rewards. From children who believe they’re more special than the next guy, to parents who believe that their child is more deserving than someone else’s child… entitlement and its consequences are causing all kinds of havoc in teaching and parenting these days. But, I don’t really want to talk about entitlement, I want to talk about it’s polar opposite: Gratitude. Gratitude is the m ..read more

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Want to improve reading skills? Practice skipping. When teaching children to read, what do we usually do?  Read to them, play reading games, point out words to them, encourage them with flash cards, listen to them reading… Conventional wisdom tells us to keep practicing the skill we want to learn. But, more and more evidence is pointing to the fact that children should go out into the playground if we really want to boost their reading, writing and maths skills. Exercises that promote coordination skills, crossing the midline, rhythm and concentration are all ..read more

Children need more exercise.   This was the finding of a University College London study which monitored the physical activity levels of 6500 children, and found that only 51% of them were engaging in the recommended 60 minutes per day. What are the main culprits? ‘Academic’ time – time spent sitting to learn and work –  is being favoured over physical activity or free play time at school Screen time – worldwide most children are spending 2+ hours per day engaged in some kind of sedentary screen time Safety concerns – our children are not nearly as free to p ..read more