Laying a strong foundation for healthy habits: The impact of exercise on developing bodies and brains

First and foremost, physical activity builds coordination, balance, good posture and flexibility in our children, whilst helping them to grow strong bones and muscles, along with healthy hearts and lungs. 
We do our pre-schoolers a big favour when we create as many opportunities as possible for them to skip, hop, run, jump, climb, gallop, swing and experiment with learning to handle balls. Traditional games like tug-o-war and hopscotch have stood the test of time for good reason. If you’re looking for more structured activities, bear in mind that dance, gymnastics and martial arts are uniquely valuable because of their focus on developing different types of balancing skills, overall strength, muscle tone and core muscles, while developing the brain wiring that is necessary for mastering controlled movement patterns.1

This may sound like a paradox, but teaching our children to be physically active every day also introduces them to a lifestyle that fosters relaxation. 

Almost any form of exercise acts as a stress reliever by distracting a person from daily worries while simultaneously reducing stress hormones and stimulating the release of feel-good hormones such as dopamine and serotonin.²

Interestingly enough, pre-schoolers who have regular movement experiences are better prepared for academic success.

Physical movement experiences help young children discover how the world works. As they experiment with movement, position, direction and rhythm, they learn important lessons on a deep, unconscious level. 

Watch children on a playground and you’ll be amazed to see how much effort they put into manoeuvring around within the space and time that is available to them. They are innately driven to assume different body positions and handle objects (like balls) in various ways. As they experiment with moving their bodies and playing with objects in various positions and directions, they unknowingly discover how to work with shape, rhythm, position and direction to create various movement patterns and spatial sequences.

In other words, physical play is crucially important for children to develop their very first layer of understanding of how things can be organized into patterns, sequences and shapes – in preparation for learning to read, write and do maths when they are older.

Tip: In today’s busy world with its distractions and emphasis on screen time, it’s easy to underestimate the importance of physical movement experiences in the big picture of brain development. For example, in 2014 it was reported that 26 % of British parents said their children spend less than 30 minutes a week playing outdoors.3 

Children who exercise more develop better executive functioning skills.

Children who are physically fit develop denser neural networks in the prefrontal cortex of their brain. As a result, they are better equipped to think clearly, plan ahead, hold information in mind to work with it, make better decisions and manage their own emotions and behaviour better.4 

What’s more, teaching children to adopt an active lifestyle is also an investment in preventing them from becoming dependent on addictive substances as adults.5

Practical tips and official recommendations. 

Physical activity: Children who are 3 to 5-years old need to spend at least 3 hours of their waking time each day doing a variety of physical activities. According to experts, at least 60 minutes a day should ideally be devoted to energetic play, spread throughout the day. More is better. 6

 
Tip: Bear in mind that children can do physical activity in small blocks of time throughout the day. 

Sedentary behaviour: Young children shouldn’t lie down watching television or be restrained – for example, sit in a car seat, stroller, at a table in a restaurant or behind a desk at a preschool - for more than 60 minutes at a time. When they cannot move around freely, the ideal way to channel their mental energy is to read to them, tell them a story, sing together, or give them the opportunity to do something constructive such as doing a puzzle, using building blocks, drawing, painting or doing craft activities.7 Colouring in is not the most ideal activity as staying within lines that were drawn by someone else inhibits the blossoming of a child’s own innate artistic abilities.

Getting enough sleep: Consistent sleep and wake-up times are important because of the impact this has on a child’s circadian rhythm. If all goes well, light exposure causes signals to be sent to the brain during the day that generate alertness and help keep children awake and active. 

Some 3 to 5-year-olds are happy with 10 hours good quality sleep a night, while others may need as many of 13 hours within a 24-hour time span. 

When children don’t get enough sleep, they’re generally groggy, emotionally charged, and uninterested in physical activity the next day.

Unfortunately, when not getting enough sleep becomes a lifestyle, the resulting lack of energy can undermine children’s developing ability to deal with stress and keep them from enjoying other children’s company, which could result in lagging social skills. Sadly, the constant negative feedback children typically get when they’re constantly short-tempered and withdrawn can impact their personality development and self-image.

Tip: Bear in mind that many children still need naps at this age. A sure sign that your child is not getting enough sleep is when you need to wake them up every morning. 

If you’re not sure where to begin, don’t worry. 

As parents, we don’t have to (and simply cannot) change everything within a day. The experts advise that we should start by setting an attainable goal for our own family and focus on adding more movement, engaging quiet play and sleep over time. 

While changing a routine may seem difficult, it’s not so difficult when we focus on making one positive change at a time. This way can gradually work towards helping our children to grow up healthier, happier, smarter, and stronger.

Free milestone reminders

NESTLÉ® NANKID® 4, made specifically for 3- to 5-year-old children, contains Omega Smart a unique source of Omega-3 (with DHA*) and Omega-6 fatty acids that are blended in the correct ratio for 3- to 5-year-old children. 

NESTLÉ® NANKID® 4 would like to celebrate and support you as an engaged parent.
We are ready to provide you with a milestone reminder tool that is available to the parents of 3- to 5-year-olds, free of charge. 

Sign up here to receive age-appropriate information on your child’s milestones on a monthly basis.
Downloadable educational game

This month’s educational tool from us is a downloadable, printable game to help parents teach their children the names of a wide selection of sports that are popular in South Africa. We’ve also included game ideas for using the cards to help give your 3- to 5-year-old’s prefrontal lobes an extra boost as they practise to keep information in mind. Enjoy!

Please follow this link to download your printable set of SPORTS CARDS in PDF format.
*Docosahexaenoic acid.

IMPORTANT NOTICE. NESTLÉ® NANKID® 4 is not a breastmilk substitute and is formulated to support the changing needs of healthy children older than 3 years.