The importance of physical literacy
Have you heard of physical literacy? Do you know why it is important to your child’s overall health and learning?
Physical literacy is when kids have developed the skills, confidence, and love of movement to be physically active for life. SD83 wants to help each of its students become more physically literate with the goal being that all of our students are active for life. Physical activity impacts so many aspects of our overall wellbeing, including sleep and mental health.
SD83 Healthy School’s Coordinator, Laura Paiement, is passionate about helping our children and youth develop their physically literacy skills and become more physically active. “We know when we have the skill, confidence, and motivation to move, we are much more likely to move. Physical activity is not only good for our bodies, but it also helps to reduce stress and anxiety, improves sleep, ability to focus and learn, self-confidence, and overall social emotional wellbeing,” states Paiement.
However, she explains, what research is showing is that kids aren’t moving as much and the health impacts, in particular the mental health and sleep impacts, are showing up now, more than ever. The ParticipACTION 2020 Report Card shows startling statistics. It’s now 2022 and things have not gotten better.
An unintended consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic for many of us “has been that our physical activity levels have sustained significant decline, she says. ParticipACTION’s own research shows that this effect has been especially pronounced on children and youth.
- Only 4.8% of children (ages 5-11) and 0.8% of youth (ages 12-17) were meeting 24-hour movement behaviour guidelines during the COVID-19 restrictions, compared to the 15% (5-17year olds) prior to the pandemic.
- 62% of kids and teens were being less physically active outdoors.
- 70% of kids and teens were spending more leisure time on screens.
- The ParticipACTION Report Card gives children and youth a D+ for Overall Physical Activity and a D+ for Sedentary Behaviours.
- Less than one in five children (ages 5-11) and youth (ages 12-17) in Canada were meeting national movement, sedentary behaviours and sleep.” – ParticipACTION 2020 Report Card
So, what can we do?
Paiement hopes that two SD83 initiatives will help: the school physical activity and physical literacy pilot project and activities that are run through a local non-profit organization called PLAY Shuswap.
The school physical activity and physical literacy project is a pilot project that is completely funded by the Ministry of Health in which three SD83 employees have become physical literacy mentors (Tricia Martin, Andi King, and Paiement) and are mentoring six teachers in 13 elementary schools so far. These physical literacy mentors have been assisting teachers in helping their students improve their physical literacy skills not only in the gym, but also in the hallways (indoor movement paths), outside (outdoor movement paths and on the playground), and in the classroom. While lots of learning is happening for both the teachers and the students, everyone is saying how much fun they are having as well and look forward to the times when the physical literacy mentors are in the schools.
Paiement, along with representatives from local recreation, sport, health, and community agencies are working together to help families be active for life through a non-profit organization called PLAY Shuswap. They are a local network of people committed to building healthy, active, and physically literate communities in the Shuswap area. PLAY Shuswap promotes awareness of physical literacy and its importance in living healthy, active lives; the development of physical literacy skills in our community members of all ages; and provide physical literacy training. Check out PLAY Shuswap’s Spring Newsletter here.
Parents looking to support their children at home around physical literacy and activity, check out the resources below including the ParticipACTION 2020 Report Card which focuses on families being a key to kids healthy movement.
Resources:
Move to learn – Strategies to structure movement into your day and home
ParticipACTION 2020 Report Card
Videos: