George Graham, PhD

How can we working parents make sure our kids get enough exercise outside of school, when we don't get home until late, there's homework to do after supper and then it's bedtime?

It's hard, isn't it? I'm tempted to give an easy answer - like dance a little during television commercials. It has to be built into the lifestyle and make sense for a family. And it doesn't have to be every night. Start with just two nights a week and add a little bit more on the weekends. Start somewhere, but don't say, "With our crazy schedule, we have to do it seven nights a week and we can't." Make it realistic and not a hassle. For some families, it may be an exercise video. There's a program out called "Dance, Dance Revolution" that's a video arcade game played with feet and a dance pad. It gets progressively faster and harder and there's a score. It's popular with kids and available for Playstation 2. It can be done indoors and the family can get involved. Some families can make a gym or swimming work. Other families might use a pedometer and go out and walk 1,000 steps. The bottom line is to find enjoyable activities and ways to do them.

What's the bottom line advice for parents to keep their kids moving?

It's got to be fun. Kids are in the moment. Help them find things they enjoy at least as much as watching television or playing computer games. And help them try different things such as golf or tennis without worrying about lessons. The point is to get them hooked on an activity, not to do it perfectly. If they like it, they can take lessons and get better later. The more movement forms we expose kids to, the better. Let them try a dance class, a gymnastics class, martial arts, yoga for kids and see what sticks. But it's go to come from the parents in the sense that they have things they enjoy in life too.

What should parents look for in physical education programs?

Ideally, kids should learn about different movement forms, how to do them, what they are, and have fun with them. If a program is consistently nothing but team sports, it's not a contemporary physical education program. They should also learn about how their heart works and how to stretch properly. At the very least, they should enjoy physical education most days. If they don't, parents need to ask why, because children love to move. They come into the world loving to move. Imagine a program where kids don't learn to read. In physical education, they should learn, just like reading or math.

Most states have standards for physical education, and there are national standards parents can use to determine if their children's physical education program is on target. Visit pecentral.org for more info.

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