There are many fun ways such as I Can Do  . . Yoga: Beginners Level.  to encourage children enjoy to their capable young bodies and keep moving. Parents and teachers know that children can be bundles of energy and that a restless child needs a physical outlet that energy. Getting plenty of exercise means better sleep, which is a plus for any parent. An article, recently published in The Vancouver Sun, explains why it is so important to keep children physically active.

Exercise means a longer life, better sleep, and feeling better. Not only are those who exercise less likely to have a stroke, diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure, or a heart attack, but “regular physical activity prevents breast cancer, helps control weight and improves brain function, mood and bone strength.”

However, most children spend almost the same number of hours as their parents’ average work week on “screen time” – up to six hours a day in front of some kind of screen. According to the 2008 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth released by Active Healthy Kids, 90 percent of Canadian children and youth do not meet Canada’s guidelines for physical activity.

The guidelines are not difficult to meet. University of British Columbia sports physician Karim Khan, co-author of Clinical Sports Medicine, says that "Recent advances include the finding that one needs to be active for a total of 60 minutes per day, seven days a week to enjoy peak health. All that means is "you have to limit your lying down and sitting to just 23 hours a day. Most people can manage that if they really work at it.”

Khan reminds us that getting exercise doesn’t have to be an organized activity. Walking, dancing, and cycling are simple ways to increase physical activity. The goal should be 60 minutes of accumulated physical activity, which can happen in 10 to 15 minute chunks of time. Thirty minutes a day is not enough to maintain a stable weight, says Khan.