Kids’ Fitness Facts
October 2, 2009
Kids’ Fitness Facts
Kids-wise, if your child complains of knee pain, check their arches to be sure they are lifted. Flat feet are common during growth spurts and can strain the joints above, especially the knees and hips. Get orthotics if needed. Baby-wise, keep those toddlers out of shoes. Arches of the feet support all the other domes of the body and are not fully formed until age four or so. Shoes on babies and toddlers interfere with this natural arch formation. Who cares if people think you are a hippie.
Heavy backpacks slung over one shoulder have got to go.I weighed my son’s backpack yesterday and it weighed 21 pounds.On a 90-pound frame that would be the equivalent of my 6-foot husband hefting a 50-pound weight around all day.Wearing this weight intermittently throughout the day is worse if it is on one shoulder, especially if it is the same shoulder.This creates a muscular imbalance, which often escalates to become a muscular strain.
What to do?
My answer is WHEELIE BACKPACKS.I inheritied one myself the other day after my son REFUSED to touch it, let alone pull it through the school halls of sneering peers.I love it.A side benefit is that I feel like I’m a flight attendant briskly hurrying to catch my flight to Bali.Of course I then look down and see my functional Merrils and realize I’m at the gym and not LaGuardia but it’s an enjoyable moment nonetheless.
DO YOU HAVE A NERVOUS CHILD? Teach them this proven breathing technique that actually lowers high blood pressure within two minutes and since stress causes blood pressure to rise, it’s also a stress-buster.I call it the SIX SECOND BREATH. Research has shown (that if you say” Research has Shown” at the beginning of any sentence that it sounds more official) and also that the breathing ratio of ten breathes per minute has a profound settling effect on the central nervous system.That’s inhaling to a slow (one one thousand, two one thousand) 3 count and exhaling to a slow 3 count. Try it for two minutes yourself.
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