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Don't Let Your Child Fall Victim to the Summer Slump

This summer, many children are trading in their books for video games and substituting outside playtime

with indoor screen time. During the summer, it is crucial to ensure that children are getting the right

amount of exercise, despite the lack of school-driven routine, it is important for parents to make healthy

living priority and instill the importance of an active routine for their children. One – third of American

children between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight or obese.

The scariest statistic, children are shown triple weight during the summer and here are some of the

reaso s…

Half of the parents polled say their children engage in more TV (49%) and video games (46%) in

the summer

Only 50% of children ages 3-5 go outside at some point during the day with their parents.

There are 42% of children who do not have regular child care arrangements besides their

parents, did not play outside.

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A survey of 1,600 American parents with children between ages of 5 and 10 showed that 58% of

children spend less than 4 days a week playing outside.

- Without a routine of planned activities, children mistake boredom for hunger and for the fridge.

- The lack of an alarm to wake them up, leads children to sleep in and skip breakfast, a spiral slope

toward weight gain.

- An unstructured eating schedule leads your child to snack throughout the day or over indulge in

a meal later.

As a pare t, what do you k ow a out your hild’s at ho e ha its?

O average, ea h day a hild spe ds; let’s take a look at the u ers:

5 hours of TV or Movies

3 hours of internet or video games

Only 4-7 minutes per day in unstructured outdoor play.

Kids 6 and under 2hours outside.

Kids 8- 10, 6 hours a day in front of a screen.

Do ’t let your hild e o e part of a u healthy statisti s.

Fight back this summer with regular play time and planned activities such as:

1. Going for a walk or hike at your local park

2. Enrolling in summer camp

3. Playing outside games such as hide and seek or tag

4. Swimming at your neighborhood pool

Sources:

Pediatrics and Adolesence Mede i e, CBS News, Reuters, Duke Childre ’s Hospital a d Health Ce ter. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Macomb News, National Wildlife Federation. The Henry Kaiser Family

Fou datio , Health Status Health Status Health Cal ulator, Dayto Childre ’s