Articles

On a summer afternoon, you might find four-year-olds digging in the mud with sticks while six-year-olds toss stones into a creek and eight-year-olds climb trees or build a fort. Welcome to the Into the Wild nature camp at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alta., where unstructured, child-led, risky play is the name of the … Continued

Did you know that Bike to School Week is happening in communities across Canada from May 27 to 31 this year? Celebrate by encouraging your child or student to ride to school this week and beyond. When done safely, cycling to and from school leads to children who are healthy, happy, and ready to study from fresh air … Continued

We live in a world overflowing with technology. Cars talk to us, phones entertain us, houses are “smart,” and wristwatches monitor our vitals. Are we living in Brave New World or 1984? Whichever we imagine, one thing is certain: our attachment to technology strains our connection with nature. Staying connected to the natural world is … Continued

Physical activity as a powerful and positive social outlet Sheppard, a lacrosse player, decides to start up a team to provide his students with physical activity and a positive social outlet. It takes some convincing—“I don’t like to run,” one boy tells Sheppard—but the Kugluktuk Grizzlies are born. At practices, Sheppard shows them how to … Continued

In Winnipeg, early childhood educators and caregivers are learning how to address a whole new dimension of infant and toddler development: physical literacy. Recently, the Access and Engagement & Physical Literacy working committees from the Winnipeg Community Sport Policy saw the need to promote physical literacy as a means to combat health risks for children … Continued

Dr. John Cairney wears many hats. He’s a professor in the kinesiology and physical education faculty at the University of Toronto, as well as director of the Infant and Child Health Lab at both U of T and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. He’s also the chair of Sport for Life’s research group for physical … Continued

Ready, Aim, Kick! to the rescue One particularly difficult day, we tried an activity called Ready, Aim, Kick! (see Activity #6) from the APPLE Seeds program. This robust program introduces physical literacy skills in a sequential way within everyday play. Ready, Aim, Kick! involves playing kicking games using targets and a variety of materials, including pylons, … Continued

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new guidelines on “physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under five years of age.” Specifically, it provides recommendations for sedentary screen time, suggesting no more than one hour per day for children ages two to four. The guidelines were developed by a WHO panel of experts … Continued

The nurse visit was part of a City of Toronto program that provided support to new moms. Sadly, it didn’t include any pamphlets or information on PPD. It would be a long time before I figured out that I had PPD—and only because my cousin made me see my family doctor. You might also like: The … Continued

The Canadian Sport Helpline is a new initiative to ensure that all Canadians participating in sport can do so in a safe and welcoming environment, regardless of the role they play. Safe sport is everyone’s responsibility, and the national toll-free helpline offers assistance to victims and witnesses of harassment, abuse, discrimination, and bullying. In its … Continued