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Exercise is critical for all aspects of a child's development. Be it playing organized team sports, riding a bike, running at the park, or crawling up, down, and around a play structure, physical activity goes well beyond physical fitness. Children who get the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended hour of daily exercise enjoy better overall health, and that includes everything from reduced risk of obesity and type-2 diabetes, improved mental well-being, and, of course, better physical fitness.
One of the largest obstacles preventing today's youth from getting the proper amount of exercise is the glut of time kids now spend staring at screens.
Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and author of the book Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids – And How to Break the Trance told Business Insider: "This modern age of screen time has led to a whole host of clinical and physical disorders and issues in children. We know that increased screen time has led to, according to evidence-based research, increases in ADHD, increased anxiety, cognitive impacts … and we know from a physical standpoint that pediatric obesity and diabetes have also increased based on more screen time."
The COVID-19 global pandemic only made matters worse. Now, children are not only deprived of the physical education and sports opportunities afforded by their time at school, but they're also limited in the activities in which they can participate beyond their home.
In order to keep kids active and healthy in the months to come, the solution is to find ways to make exercise at home genuinely fun.
We spoke to experts ranging from personal trainers to childhood fitness experts and assembled our list of toys, tools, apps, and videos that can help kids stay active at home. We divided the picks into three age groups: kindergarten through second grade, third grade through fifth grade, and sixth grade through eighth grade.
Of course, you know your kids best and there may be some crossover here; whatever works best to keep your kids moving and active is just fine.
Editor's note: We recommend setting up two-step authentication on either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for purchases. Though we've outlined the potential in-app purchases of the apps listed below, two-step authentication requires confirmation from the lead account owner before any purchases can be made (and can go a long way toward avoiding any unnecessary purchases).
Here are the best toys, gear, and services for helping kids exercise at home:Read the original article on Insider