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Children need active play time

This is the first of a series of monthly articles that are being submitted on behalf of the Salmon Arm Early Childhood Development Committee

This is the first of a regular series of monthly articles that are being submitted on behalf of the Salmon Arm Early Childhood Development Committee.

The Salmon ECD Committee is a community based group committed to raising community awareness about the importance of healthy development in the early years.

The committee determined that the strategic focus for the next two years is to raise awareness about the importance of play in early childhood development.

Physically active play is a wise habit to encourage and can result in healthy, active living for life.  Physical fitness is fun and the benefits include building strong muscles and bones, avoiding childhood obesity and boosting self-esteem and confidence.

At the same time, children are also learning very important skills such as eye-hand coordination, role playing, making observations and problem solving, just to name a few.

Some examples of active play indoors and outdoors include:

• Put on some music and dance or move around

• Create an obstacle course and crawl under, climb over, or move around the obstacles

• Go for a walk around your neighborhood

• Roll, throw, catch and kick balls and objects of different sizes

• Go swimming or hiking

• Visit the park or playground.

Be creative.  Explore the possibilities and have fun doing it!

Play today, lead tomorrow.