Outdoor play activities 'should be promoted by parents'
16/04/2010 It is important that parents encourage their children to take part in outdoor play activities as they act as role models, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Outdoor play activities are known to have numerous benefits as they help improve social and emotional development, as well as increasing physical fitness.
Spending time out of doors is also good for sensory development.
Daniel Kirschenbaum, professor at Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, told the news provider: "Parents have an incredible, powerful ability to model behaviour... You are your own best ally."
The newspaper suggested that people build time into their routine to spend time with their children, such as going for a walk rather than heading to the gym for exercise.
Recent research published in the Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine also revealed that exercise can lead to weight loss in teenagers who have the so-called obesity gene.
The Associated Press reports that those who took part in one hour or more of physical activity each day had on average the same body mass index and waist size as those without the gene.
Outdoor play activities are known to have numerous benefits as they help improve social and emotional development, as well as increasing physical fitness.
Spending time out of doors is also good for sensory development.
Daniel Kirschenbaum, professor at Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, told the news provider: "Parents have an incredible, powerful ability to model behaviour... You are your own best ally."
The newspaper suggested that people build time into their routine to spend time with their children, such as going for a walk rather than heading to the gym for exercise.
Recent research published in the Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine also revealed that exercise can lead to weight loss in teenagers who have the so-called obesity gene.
The Associated Press reports that those who took part in one hour or more of physical activity each day had on average the same body mass index and waist size as those without the gene.
