Julie Dean's daily nutrifix

What's Happened To Playtime?

The school holidays are upon us and I’m sure I’m not alone in wanting to see children up and about having fun together rather than sitting in isolation with their computers and play stations. It is worrying then that a recent study revealed that many children actually don’t know how to play without the use of some electrical gadget. The report[1] entitled ‘Big Mothered Britain’ which surveyed over 4,000 parents, found that today’s generation of children are missing out on the wide variety of traditional childhood games that we grew up on.

 

I don’t think I can remember any of my childhood girlfriends not having a skipping rope but this report revealed only 24% of girls today skip often. Other childhood activities that are disappearing include hopscotch for girls and tree climbing among boys.

 

Of course we did not have access to the ‘readymade’ entertainment, such as play stations, Wiis and Nintendo consoles, which our children are surrounded by so we had to rely on using our imagination and physical skills to create our world of fun.   

 

Whilst there is a lot to be said for children growing up to be computer savvy it cannot be good if they are so committed to their hand held games that they don’t get enough exercise, and they will surely miss out on learning to play as part of a team.

 

I have to confess though that in this busy world of fast cars I have not given my children the same freedom, to cycle or play wherever they want, as my parents allowed for me.  There has to be a balance which is why it’s great that the Fruit Shoot team have updated their web site with easy to follow instructions to enable  children to learn all sorts of new and different skills – from skipping, football keepy-uppy’s, beatboxing and ping-cup visit www.fruitshoot.com.

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[1] Research of 4,000

UK

parents, conducted by Consumer Analysis Limited, March 2009

Children drink too little in hot weather

In today’s Daily Express, the well known nutritionist Anita Bean (she has written some great books on nutrition and sports for children!)   Click here for Anitas web stie. reported on a recent survey that children are not drinking enough during this hot weather. 

Im not surprised by the findings -  children do tend to be more at risk than adults of becoming dehydrated as they’re generally more active and may have difficulty recognising when they’re thirsty.  Having a variety of drinks including water, juices and squash readily available is the best way to keep children hydrated this summer. 

Did you know….?

• Children need proportionally more fluids than an adult
• Children do not always respond to thirst. Often they are just not bothered to stop what they’re doing, they may not have access to fluids or simply don’t like what is on offer!
• Dehydration in children may cause a lack of concentration and poor short term memory, fatigue, dry skin, irritability, craving sugar, less urination (dark coloured urine) and is a common cause of constipation
• Children will often grow at a faster pace in the summer versus the winter adding to their hydration needs
• All soft drinks can contribute to daily fluid needs including fruit juices, squashes, water and fizzy drinks
• Drinks will vary in their sugar content so by having different drinks throughout the day, it is easier to balance energy and hydration needs
• Although an excellentorm of hydration, drinking only water can become boring. Research shows that if children enjoy what they are drinking they are more likely to voluntarily stay hydrated