Activities and Exercise | Arkansas Children's Hospital

Activities and Exercise
Exercise and Adolescents Teens need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days for good health and fitness and for healthy weight during growth.
Find Safe, Fun Ways to Keep Young Kids Active Kids need to move to build cognitive and motor skills and to learn that physical activity is fun.
Get Your Kids to Log Off Rising "screen time" can cost kids the exercise they need to keep fit.
Help Girls Stay Active as Teens The teen years often bring a sharp drop in physical activity, especially for girls.
How to Get Your Kids in Shape Experts recommend children get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days to maintain good health and fitness and for healthy weight during growth.
In Gymnastics, Kids Flip for Fitness The sport helps build strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. Its all-around fitness benefits make it a good springboard to other activities.
Make Exercise a Family Affair Like adults, children should be physically active most, if not all, days of the week.
Sports and Children with Special Needs Special needs children are sometimes not encouraged to exercise, because their parents or guardians fear they'll be injured. But physical activity is as important for special needs children, as it is for any child.
Sports and Music: Both Good for Kids Organized sports for children offer obvious benefits such as physical fitness and sportsmanship, but did you know that a musical education program has many of the same benefits? Music education and participation in sports are both great ways to prepare your child for future success.
Teach Teens to Stretch An adolescent athlete can never stretch too much, experts say. Stretching to stay flexible is vital -- particularly when a child reaches puberty and goes through a growth spurt.
Weight Room No Longer Off-Limits to Kids The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Sports Medicine now say that strength training is fine for kids, as long as they are supervised and don't try to lift too much weight.
Weight Training for Teens Once children hit puberty, and hormones make it possible to build muscle, weight training can become a part of a healthy exercise program for youths. Research suggests strength training has a lot to offer some teenagers in terms of health, fitness and fun.