Brains & Braun

Try this. Sit at your desk for seven hours straight with only two twenty minute breaks. One for lunch and one to move around. Can you stay focused and do your best work? This is what we ask of our kids, five days a week nine months out of the year. Now that time allotted for physical education and recess has been drastically reduced this is what their day looks like. I don’t know about anyone else but if I take a break and go for a walk or a bike ride I’m actually more productive and focused when I return to my desk.

Recess and P.E. are necessary. It’s where kids learn about their bodies, de-stress and unwind. They need time when they do not have to prove themselves to their parents or coaches and are not put in performance situations as they are in competitive sports. In addition they need time for sports and games that are not adult directed. Kids develop valuable social skills by making up their own games, picking their own teams, creating their own rules and solving their own disputes.

According to The National Alliance for Youth Sports 75% of kids drop out of organized sports by age 13. This year alone that would mean approximately 40 million boys and girls. Just when we want to keep them busy! When surveyed the main reason given for dropping out is that it’s not fun anymore. We need to put the fun back into sports. When kids play sand lot sports they own the life lessons they learn, whether it’s teamwork, leadership, accountability, problem solving, character building…the list goes on. Within this dynamic they discover who they are and how they fit in. Decisions are not made for them and structure is not provided. They are the “boss of them” for better or for worse!


I recently read a New York Times Magazine article titled “Phys Ed: Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter?” All of us wildly ambitious parents need to read the full article. The author sites compelling studies both long and short term that provide evidence that “being fit may enhance nuerocognition” and “that as little as 20 minutes of aerobic exercise before a test raised childrens scores.” Another study in Sweden found that “among more than a million 18-year-old boys who joined the army, better fitness was correlated with higher I.Q.’s, even among identical twins. There’s no evidence that exercise leads to higher I.Q., but researchers suspect that aerobic exercise, not strength training, produces specific growth factors and proteins that stimulate the brain.”


Getting kids to move is really not very difficult….asking them to sit still can be. I thought it would be interesting to try a little experiment. Both adults and kids can try this. Take away all unnecessary electronic equipment for one day. (Obviously computers are needed for homework) I’m talking video games, cell phones, television, iPods etc. Now attach a pedometer to your belt or pocket. On another day utilize the pedometer using electronics as you would on a normal day. The outcome is pretty predictable but the actual numbers on the pedometer may surprise you. Now multiply the number times 365 days a year and the sedentary days in front of the computer or television etc. really add up. Obviously none of us are going to give up our electronics, but if there is awareness, maybe it will inspire us to cut back our usage of some of these things and get up and move a little more.

The way adults model and view exercise is worth exploring as well as our kids tend to adopt their parents practices. There is a reason the word work is in workout. It’s great that we take pride in keeping ourselves healthy and fit. But I contend that it’s difficult to sustain a lifetime of consistent fitness habits when it’s work!! Going to the gym and pedaling a bike going nowhere is tough to do day in and day out. Realistically if the workout is fun and engaging we’ll be more apt to go back and do it the next day. I took up ice hockey well into my forties and couldn’t believe the workout I got and the fun I had! I’ve never played a sport I enjoy so much but have so little aptitude for! Regardless, every time I tie my skates I feel excitement. If team sports isn’t your thing how about dance or martial arts to name a few. If you live in a place with bike paths get out of the car and ride and walk more. Take the stairs and park your car further from the grocery store. As examples for our kids let’s model a life in motion. As long as we’re moving it’s got to be good. My experience has been that to sustain lifelong fitness we need to make it a habit and just as importantly feel the joy in it!