Happy Healthy Confident Kids

Hi there,

My name is Mia Jay an Accredited Exercise Physiologist from Sydney and I specialise in International Public Health. I love collaborations that make us happier and healthier. This is my first blog dedicated to the Allied Health Community. I hope you enjoy reading my first blog on the benefits of children participating in exercise.

#Happy #Healthy #Confidence

As a family we use to swim or should I say we use to participate in water play in the pool and or spa every day or at least every second day before the pools closed due to the impact and threat of the coronavirus. As an Exercise Physiologist I had a million of exercises I could do during Sydney’s lockdown with my three daughters … and we did!

We focused on a range of physical activities and skills such as running, skipping, hopping, balancing with one leg in the air on a scooter descending down ramps, hula hooping, riding a bike, throwing and catching different sized balls, soccer skills and gymnastics. I went out and purchased our very own gymnastics beam and bars which certainly helped our family enjoy frequent active breaks during homeschooling to improve our concentration.

The benefits of physical activity are scientifically evident and especially vivid in isolation. I am passionate about physical activity for children. They learn so much and they learn so fast. Adapting to each activity with speedy progression.

Our children learn new skills that improve their self-confidence. I believe the greatest gift we can give our beloved children is to cultivate their belief in themselves!

With physical activity, children can increase their self-efficacy immediately by executing a new skill. With positive reinforcement they are determined to practice new talents which enhance their #coordination, #balance, #cardiovascular #fitness, #endurance, #strength and #flexibility.

These golden benefits are in addition to improving their #lung capacity and their #heart efficiency! This principle concurs with my every belief that #Prevention is best! Prevention of chronic illness such as type 2 #diabetes is preventable, that means we can stop it from developing, if we live a healthy lifestyle.

Wow, now you know some of the magical benefits of exercise!

The benefits of Physical activity really are a medicine and if it were a pill, we would take it! So let’s cultivate an enthusiasm for health in our children from birth. In fact, why can’t we facilitate this enthusiasm of health when we are creating life? Let’s help inform women of the benefits of participating in physical activity during pregnancy! During a #healthy #pregnancy women CAN participate in physical activity (I can write a new blog for the health benefits and physical activity guidelines).

Did I mention that physical activity in a child’s everyday life will improve their QOL – Quality of Life! They will be healthier and happier with improved concentration at school.

Furthermore as an AEP at Mia’s Health we help those with special needs and we often help children and adults with Autism. There are a plethora of benefits from our exercise physiology sessions especially for those with special needs or special population groups.

The main benefits that carers report are improved mood and concentration when partaking in other therapies such as speech pathology and psychology!! That means the children and adults with autism are happier. Their behaviour changes because we have exerted our energy throughout a one hour session and their mood and attentiveness improves. Our clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often non-verbal or speak very little which means they may be limited to fitting into community activities, social interactions and sports play.

The benefits of exercise for children are clear! Children with autism participating in regular exercise physiology sessions, enhance their coordination, balance, motor planning, strength, balance, aerobic capacity, gross and fine motor skills.

In conclusion, Exercise increases blood flow to our brains and organs.

Exercise makes our muscles stronger and helps our growing bones too. There are so many benefits to exercise.

Fundamentally #Exercise makes us feel #happier, #healthier, #stronger and #confident!

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