On March 27th the new Canadian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years was released by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and ParticipACTION, with support from with support from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group.
For healthy growth and development, the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for the Early Years recommend:
- Children under the age of one should be physically active several times daily – particularly through interactive, floor-based play. This should include supervised indoor and outdoor experiences such as tummy time, reaching and grasping, pushing and pulling, and crawling.
- Children aged one to four should accumulate at least 180 minutes of physical activity at any intensity spread throughout the day. This should include a variety of activities in different environments where children can develop movement skills, such as climbing stairs, playing outside and exploring the environment, brisk walking, running or dancing.
- By age five, children should progress towards at least 60 minutes of energetic play, such as hopping, skipping and bike riding.
Read the joint press release from the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology (CSEP) and ParticipACTION.
