Dr. Mark Tremblay (Director) was recently quoted in an article by the Globe and Mail that looked at the role parents can play in getting their children and youth more physically active.
From the article:
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the most important influence of the healthy, active living behaviour of our kids has been ours [as parents],” says Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer of Active Healthy Kids Canada and a father of four. “They see you go out and run or golf or play soccer and they emulate that.”
For six years running, Active Healthy Kids Canada has given Canadian kids an F in physical activity levels, saying that only 7 per cent of children and youth get the recommended 60 minutes daily. Since only 15 per cent of Canadian adults are getting the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity weekly, it’s easy to see where the kids are picking up their habits.
“The norm is that we as adults come home and sit in front of a screen in our discretionary time,” says Dr. Tremblay. “The kids are emulating us very well.”
Parents are certainly not the only adults kids look up to – “it depends on the kid,” Dr. Tremblay says.
Click here to read the article in full.
