Active children are ready to learn, experts say
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| GateHouse News Service The Short family, from left, Ellen, John, Emma, 10, and James, 13, are shown at their Clinton, N.Y. home. "We've been athletes and continued with exercise as part of our daily routine," said Ellen Short, 51, who said she runs with her son, James. "We try to have a healthy lifestyle." |
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Christina Buschmann of the Fitness Center at the Clinton Central School District has seen the positive effects exercise can have on students' classroom
performance.
"I can't even stress enough how important that is," she said. "There have been so many studies done on academic effects. You need to educate the whole child. That means educating them on how to be healthy and how to be academically healthy."
Wayne Baran, executive director for the Boys and Girls Club of the Mohawk Valley, said he agrees about the benefits of exercise for children.
"It helps them feel happy and ready to learn and engage in the academic/life-skills programs in a proactive way," he said. The life-skills programs are offered by the Boys and Girls Club.
One of the keys to keeping students interested in sports and physical activity is parental support.
The Short family of Clinton, N.Y., has put that theory into practice.
"We've been athletes and continued with exercise as a part of our daily routine," said Ellen Short, 51. "We try to have a healthy lifestyle."
Short and her husband, John, who is 50, started their family later in life. They have a son James, 13, and daughter, Emma, 10. Ellen runs regularly with James.
"We've been going to the track and doing that," she said. In late summer, she ran with him as he prepared for soccer tryouts.
In addition, "My husband goes with him to the fitness center, and they lift weights," she said.
The couple's daughter Emma, 10, who plays basketball and ice skates, recently took a yoga class with her mom. The class was offered through a family fitness program at the Clinton school fitness center.
The Clinton district is preparing to launch in November the second year of a program aimed at promoting family fitness called the Parents as Partners of Exercise.
During the program - which is for students in sixth through 12th grades - parents are encouraged to exercise with their children.
"I know firsthand it is a confidence thing and you need to have the support of parents," Buschmann said. "The whole concept is to get the parents involved with their kids in some sort of physical activity. They'll be able to support their child in a positive way."
