Viva Vitality: Stay active outdoors this winter!
By Madison Keys
As the calendar inches closer to December, it is time to prepare for the winter season ahead. As parents and guardians, it can be normal to want to keep children inside and out of the winter weather. However, it is important to encourage a healthy lifestyle in your children and encourage safe outdoor winter activity.
The physical activity recommendation within the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth is a daily average of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). According to ParticipACTION’s 2022 Children and Youth Report Card, only 28 per cent of Canadian children aged five to seventeen years old are meeting this guideline. This rate is an 11 per cent drop from the previous year’s report card.
Children and Youth are recommended by the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines to have no more than two hours of screen time per day on average. However, at the start of the pandemic in 2020, only 16.5 per cent of children were meeting this recommendation. Participating in winter activities can help to keep children active throughout the Canadian winter season and help to increase their rates of activity. Activities may include ice skating or hockey, sledding, skiing, and snowboarding.
If the temperature outside is -25 °C or lower, it is important to limit the amount of time outside as skin can freeze in a few minutes at this temperature. If the temperature is above -25 °C, here are actions you can implement to stay safe:
Dress in warm clothes. Wearing a few lighter layers is better than one heavy layer and can help to maintain overall body heat.
Children’s hoods and jackets should not have drawstrings, as drawstrings present a safety hazard for them. If the hood or jacket comes with drawstrings, you should remove them before your child wears the clothing item.
Ensure that vulnerable areas of the body, such as the toes, fingers, nose, and ears, are protected from the cold. Wearing gloves, a toque and tube-shaped neck warmers are great options for keeping these vulnerable areas warm.
Taking frequent breaks from the cold can be important for helping the body warm up.
Let’s all do our part to help children be active all year round! For more information on how to stay active and safe this winter season look for Winter outdoor safety tips at parachute.ca.
Madison Keys is a practicum student with the Alberta Health Services South Zone Population and Public Health team.