Kids today are getting heavier and heavier, leading many experts to consider childhood obesity an epidemic. According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, up to 33% of all children and adolescents in the United States are obese.
This statistic doesn’t even begin to address how many more children are considered overweight. Overall, there is a serious problem with the health of American children. Parents need to step in and help their children to get healthy, but how can they do this? One simple way to set your kids on the path to fitness and health is by enrolling them in youth sports camps.
Get Your Kids Moving!
Millions of kids every day come home from school and crash out on the couch, watching television until they go to bed at night. Others will sit in front of a computer or a video game for hours on end. While television, computers and video games are not the sole cause of the childhood obesity epidemic, these sedentary activities are definitely not helping matters. If you want your child to be fit and healthy, you need to encourage them to get off the couch and get moving.
To do this, you simply need to find youth sports camps in your area and get your children signed up. These camps are often offered as after-school programs, or they are held during extended breaks from school such as summer break. They are a quality alternative to laying in front of the television and they offer kids a chance to get moving in a fun way.
(also read: obesity in children as young as seven)
Types of Sports Camps
There are a number of different kinds of youth sports camps out there for your children to try. Basketball, softball, baseball, lacrosse, hockey and volleyball are just some of the many popular sports that your child can participate in at one of these camps. The beauty of these programs is that they allow kids to try an activity for a certain period of time, but they are not committed to a full season of the sport. This enables your child to learn what they like best and to advance their skills in a number of different sports activities. If your child is unsure as to whether or not they will enjoy a sport, a one-week camp is the ideal length of time for helping them to learn if the sport is right for them.
What happens at one of these camps? Usually, kids will work with skilled coaches to learn how to play a particular sport. Kids of all skill levels will benefit from the expert coaching and can really hone their abilities in the sport they are trying. Kids will practice and learn with other children in their age group, so they get the added benefit of meeting new friends. Camps generally divide kids into teams and then hold tournaments where the participants get to play real games against one another.
Throughout these youth sports camps, children and adolescents are constantly moving. They are exercising and sweating, yet they will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize how hard they are working. For many kids, the thought of monotonous physical activity on a gym machine makes them cringe, but playing a sport with their friends is fun and exciting.
How to Sign-Up
If you want to get your child signed up for one of the many youth sports camps in your area, you’ll need to find out what’s available to you. An online sports directory that parents can search to find activities near them is the first step. The directory will also list contact information, so parents can make the call right away to get their child enrolled.
If you want to fight childhood obesity by starting at home, look for youth sports camps in your area.
by Bryon Blandin of MamboSports.com
