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Study Shows Kids Eat What They Watch On TV
Just as it's been proven that brands encouraging our kids to watch YouTuber/Twitch presenters peddle Doritos and Mountain Dew increases those brands junk food sales it seems the correlation between the media we let or children engage with and their eating habits has been further illustrated in a new study which shows that kids who watch healthy food based cooking shows are twice as likely to choose to snack healthily.
“Kids who watched a child-oriented cooking show featuring healthy food were 2.7 times more likely to make a healthy food choice than those who watched a different episode of the same show featuring unhealthy food,”
- The study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour.
The study which was based in the Netherlands, included 125 kids from five schools who were aged between 10 and 12.
The kids watched a Dutch TV show designed for children and were then offered a snack options as a reward. The kids who watched the healthy kids oriented cooking show opted for the cucumber slices and apples over pretzels and crisps.
Frans Folkvord, PhD, of Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands, who ran the study believes that positive TV programming can change the way children regard healthy foods and that kids can be steered towards healthier choices with "positive peer and teacher modelling".
As a parent it's hard to ignore the notion that kids do what we show them and not what we tell them. Hopefully some of the ideas from this study can be applied on a national level when it comes to planning and programming in the UK as part of the countries fight back against the growing childhood obesity epidemic reducing our kids estimated lifespans year after year.
We recently wrote about the fact that kids being involved in the preparation of food increases the chance that they make healthy choices. ( Childhood Obesity Solved: Teach Kids To Cook. ) So it seems we are in dire need of an increase in kid focused cooking shows which encourage kids to understand and get involved in food preparation.
Parents and teachers wanting to encourage their pupils and kids to watch kids focused cooking shows which encourage participation can look no further than shows such as "Kids Baking Show" and "Chopped Junior" on the Food Network and the CBeebies show "I Can Cook" featured here.
BBC Goodfood has a series of online kids cooking recipes you can try out together.
"Modern reliance on ready-prepared foods and a lack of modelling by parents in preparing fresh foods have led to a drop in cooking skills among kids”
The study talks about modelling and encourages parents to help teach kids how to cook safely. The habit of eating healthy much like being active stays with us into adulthood. If this country is to try and combat the growing obesity figures with real changes then a shift in the culture of kids programming and some laws to protect our children from persuasive and predatory kids programming (ON TV and online) needs to come into place.
One great method to get kids into eating fruit and veg is to challenge them to fit three colours onto their plate every day. Look at this selection, its much prettier than chicken nuggets and chips. Lets use that.
For now it’s simply up to you to ensure your children get outside, get active and eat healthily and the best way to influence them to do this is to show them how much fun it is.
“Increased cooking skills among children can positively influence their consumption of fruit and vegetables in a manner that will persist into adulthood.” - Frans Folkvord lead author of the study.
Kid’s cookery classes are also available throughout the UK - a list compiled by BBC good food has some good options.
Parents looking to also encourage healthy habits at home can purchase a kids standing desk on this site here. Whilst teachers and schools looking to include standing desk options in their classrooms can undertake a try before you buy trial at their school by filling in this small form.
The solution is holistic. A cultural shift. A series of small changes which add up to a change in attitude and perception of activity and health. Our children are fixated on their devices so lets co-opt that desire to binge watch media content for good, by spending a little bit of time curating their viewing options.
"The man who moves mountains begins by carrying away small stones." - Confucius
Creative Ways To Improve Kids "Physical Literacy"
The Telegraph have released an article this week showing 25 ways parents can get kids more active to stave off the summer holiday slum. That dreadful reduction in mobility that has been recently reported on by UKActive and Sport England.
Just surf through our previous blogs this month to see the stats on how little kids move during their summer holidays and it'll come as no surprise that they put on the pounds whilst staring at screens for 4 to 5 hours a day.
The Government’s new School Sport and Activity Action Plan is now pushing a term we've been writing about all quarter. Physical Literacy. According to the plan this encompasses enjoyment, motivation, competence, understanding and knowledge. Ensuring children can demonstrate all aspects of this means reportedly they will become happier, more resilient and more trusting of other kids. They also improve academically.
Sport England says making sport fun is key to getting kids motivated to get active. I know my own son jumped at the chance to attend mixed martial arts when I put it to him that he had been invited to attend "Ninja School".
So what are some of the suggested activities the Telegraph say you could inspire your kids with?
Well amongst the typical suggestions of outdoor sports and challenges they brought to light the LIdl Mudder challenge from the folk behind Tough Mudder. A yearly event for 5 to 12 year olds around the country to run an assault course designed just for kids. Race for Life is also hosting Pretty Muddy Kids, a 5k obstacle challenge on Aug 31 in Morden Park, London, and Sept 7 in Nottingham and Milton Keynes
Other unique suggestions for exercise include the world’s largest indoor inflatable assault course aptly named the "Monster"
Folu Ososanya founder of children’s football coaching academy says exposing kids to professional sport early on lets feel more connected to it. So you could think about taking them to the game. I think giving them a team to support can have an amazing affect on their buy in to any sport. I'm sure many fully gown adults still support Man United because their favourite childhood colour was red.
Another fitting suggestion to motivate the screen obsessed children in your household is to get the tech they love so much involved in the journey. This year’s Pokemon Go is Harry Potter: Wizards Unite which has kids exploring their locality casting spells and collecting artefacts. Apps such as Yoga for kids and Just Dance are also great motivators.
Amidst many other suggestions (Check them out here yourself) The article explains that bribery and blackmail are still a sure fire tactic to get your kids moving. There are also dance classes that teach the moves from the most popular game of the moment "Fortnite." I know a few kids who would fall over themselves to do anything Fortnite related so this could be gem for other parents with like-minded gamer children.
Theme park walks can find your kids clocking up the miles with a smile on their face so the lesson here is how we position the activity. Kids are interested in games and using their imaginations. Traipsing through harsh woodland is a lot more fun for my sons when we are hunting witches or taking their trusty teddies on a picnic at the top of a long hill walk.
Whatever your methods take some inspiration from anywhere and everywhere and get your kids used to moving and respecting their bodies. Studies have shown that children who are active turn into active healthier adults. 
Standing desks are a great way to get kids moving whilst they are distracted performing an activity which motivates them such as colouring, drawing or magazine puzzles. Schools interested in undertaking a try before you buy Eiger Student Standing desk trial can apply through the short form here.
Recent studies have show that spending time on mobile phones for 5 hours a day means you are more likely to become obese and develop heart disease. So for your own sake and your kids try and put down the devices and get outside with your little ones this half term. Lets make the teaching of physical literacy start at home and hopefully see it continued back at school.
P.E. As Important As Maths & English to 2/3rds of Parents.
A poll conducted by YouGov for the Youth Sports Trust surveyed 2071 adults and the results indicate that P.E. is just as important to parents as maths, science and English. Two thirds of parents believe P.E. should get as much time in the curriculum as the core subjects.
Almost half of the parents surveyed believe that it is wrong to take kids out of P.E. for extra tuition in English, Maths and Science.
Meanwhile it has come to light that P.E. has received tuition time cuts putting the subject as the 2nd most cut from our children’s schedules next to ICT.
Children need P.E. but should it muscle out the core subjects?
Alison Oliver, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: “Pupils are being taught fewer hours of physical education than they were a decade ago,” she said.
“The wellbeing of young people is in decline, with too many struggling with issues that a good quality physical education could support them with.
“Provision of opportunities to enjoy sport, play and physical activity should be a core part of every young person’s education. We passionately believe that a transformed physical education should be on a par with maths and English in the curriculum.”
The Youth Sport Trust is holding National School Sport Week, from 24 to 28 June.
8,200 schools have taken part in national sport week since 2014. Readers can find out more about the National School Sport Week here and register their involvement. The first 500 schools to submit their registration will all receive a National School Sport Week bonus pack including bunting to decorate their school.
A Department for Education spokesperson said that the government has doubled its P.E. and sport premium funding to £320 million a year.
What’s the takeaway here? No this writer doesn't agree that physical education should hold as much curriculum time as the core subjects however it is indicated that the majority of parents believe that physical literacy is important and should be a main concern for our children.
Standing desks promote physical literacy in kids and are available to try before you buy for schools using this link. It has been proven that children who are physically literate and include movement in their daily routine go on to become healthier, happier adults. We all want that for our children... so what can you do? If you're a parent or teacher you can get behind your schools health programs and make sure your children are exercising. This could be holding classes out in the playground or integrating standing desks into your learning spaces. Some schools are now starting to tap into their sport premium funding for standing desk purchases whilst school PTA's are even supporting their schools by funding standing desks for their kids.
Children’s life expectancy are now 5 years shorter due to low physical and mental health. It's time to curb the trend of low physical activity and stomp on the sedentary habits demonstrated by our children. Reduce screen time and let them play outside more. (One in eight kids don't play outside!)
Exercise, Fresh air and vitamin C are regarded as miracle cures we are so desperately in need of. Maybe you agree with this writer that exercise should be encouraged but not in place of the core subjects or you believe P.E. should be getting more timetable space. It seems the majority of parents agree that physical literacy matters...and serious change needs to occur to give out children those 5 years back.
Source: Times Educational Supplement
Warning Signs of Obesity Appear From Age 2
Should 2 Year Olds Be Measured To Red Flag Childhood Obesity?
The Mail online seems to think so. Following conversations with Manchester Uni researchers who have determined that you may be able to see early warning signs of childhood and possible future adult obesity from as early as two years old.
Research has shown us that if children are overweight at primary age they are more likely to be overweight adults. As part of the National Child Measurement Programme, children are weighed and measured at school in reception and year 6. The information is used by the NHS to plan and provide better health services for children.
New independent research undertaken at the University of Manchester and published in the peer-reviewed journal Preventive Medicine Reports explains there is a connection with early growth patterns and the likelihood of later life obesity. Following an interview with the researchers the Mail Online has produced an article stating that children should be weighed from age 2 in order to try and predict those with possible future obesity risk. The researchers stating that only collecting the data twice during schooling allows for at risk children to be missed.
The researchers harnessed results from over 1000 other studies from all around the world and collated the results to extrapolate their findings. The sheer breadth of the subject studies means it's difficult to specific how applicable the results are just for the UK school kids however the study does seem to illustrate clearly that early growth patterns can be used as a clear red flag for later life obesity and this information should potentially be built into our early assessment and preventative NHS model being touted by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
( We wrote about this here NHS To Embrace Preventative Innovations to Prevent Illness and here Prevention is better than Cure - New Report Published by NHS )
“Right now, the obesity epidemic is probably the worst it’s ever been,” says Daniel Ganjian, MD, paediatric obesity specialist.
Public Health England has produced slides to illustrate the childhood obesity data updated in June 2017.
Research has shown that integrating standing desks into classrooms reduce the students BMI in just a year. With the childhood obesity crisis hitting record breaking highs, is it time to start asking your school what they are doing to combat the issue? If your a conscientious head teacher / teacher and want to start making moves to improving physical literacy in your classroom by including standing desk stations you can utilise your sports premium to access funds.
Schools wishing to try before you buy can trial standing desks for students by visiting this short form and getting in touch.
The National Child Measurement Programme
To calculate your child’s BMI there are online apps and resources available such as this one.
Change4Life Website offers tips for parents hoping to get their whole family in shape and combat the obesity crisis.
NHS has advice for you if your child is overweight
Standing Desk Classrooms Reduce Student BMI
An estimated 41 million children worldwide are deemed overweight or obese (World Health Organisation, 2017)
A study by the World Health Organisation and Imperial College London showed that the number of obese children and adolescents has increased tenfold in the past four decades and should current trends continue then more children will be obese than underweight by 2022. To put this in simple terms in 1975 there were 11 Million obese children now 124 million kids are obese meanwhile another 213 million are overweight but shy of the obesity threshold.
BMI is a measure of a person’s weight and body fat mass for their height, and indicates whether their weight is healthy.
A study undertaken by researcher Monica Wendel, University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences has shown a significant drop in student Body Mass Index for classrooms fitted out with student standing desks for kids.
The study was published by the American Journal of Public Health and included 193 kids at three Primary age schools. Children in the control classrooms used traditional desk seating (The kind one Head teacher referred to as inhumane!) whilst the test subjects used standing desks with the option of rest stools.
At the beginning of the study each students BMI was recorded along with pertinent information on their age, weight, gender, height etc. and after one and two years the same information was collected for comparison.
After adjusting for grade, race, ethnicity and gender Wendel discovered a 5.24% decrease in the standing desk classrooms student body B.M.I. The same results also showed up after only one year.
"School-age children spend most of their waking hours during the week at school. Changing classrooms to stand-biased environments has the potential to affect millions of children by interrupting sedentary behaviour, and this can be done simply, at a low cost, and without disrupting classroom instruction," Wendel said.
Now childhood obesity levels are at a record high so the simple implementation of standing desk classrooms affecting student BMI is an excellent supporting argument for making the move to include them in your learning space. Schools wishing to trial standing desks in their classrooms can start a try before you buy trial here.
New data published in October 2018 showed year 6 child obesity has increased by more than a third in 2007. This was from data captured by the national child measurement programme overseen by Public Health England.
The same data captured has shown;
- The proportion of overweight and obese children in reception year (aged 4 to 5) has remained at 22.4% equal to a staggering 136,586 children
- For year 6 children, it is 34.3% (equal to 197,888 children) compared to 31.6% in 2006 to 2007
Dr Alison Tedstone, Chief Nutritionist at PHE described childhood obesity as a Crisis which the government needs to tackle with bold steps.
"This threat to our children’s health has been decades in the making – we’re moving in the right direction but reversing it will not happen overnight."
Further reading:
Article on Record number of severely obese children by BBC
World Health Organization: Tenfold increase in childhood and adolescent obesity in four decades
Doctor Shortage Puts Children's Health "At Risk"
A new report by The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has described the Scottish paediatric workforce as on the verge of a crisis, putting children's health 'At Risk'.
Scotland are lagging behind England in the recruitment of Paediatric consultants and would need a 25% increase to meet required standards.
Kids doctor shortfall puts NHS on brink of crisis
A Scottish government spokesperson said Brexit has caused uncertainty and the knock-on effect is difficulty in recruitment for the NHS.
"Work is under way to develop a comprehensive plan to help address some of the recruitment and retention challenges faced by our health and care sector.
"We have already published workforce plans covering the NHS, Primary Care and Social Care, and an integrated health and social care workforce plan will be published shortly.
Prof Steve Turner, officer for Scotland at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said that tackling the shortage of paediatric doctors needs to be a "priority".
"Failing to take the necessary steps now will be to the detriment of our children both today and in the future."
This news hits off the back of a recent announcement that 25% of Primary one school kids in Scotland are starting school obese or overweight.
Obesity related illness is costing the NHS over 6 billion every year, initiatives to reduce obesity in children would in turn ensure that long term obesity related illness causes less stress to the public sector service and should be prioritised as an investment in the next generation who are reportedly going to live 5 years less than our generation.
We recently wrote about the UK government tackling fast food companies with a watershed on junk food adverts and encouraging kids to eat healthy with the Vegetable Power campaign that offers free resources for schools to motivate kids to eat vegetables.
Schools wishing to tackle obesity at ground level can also sign up for the daily mile or consider trailing kids standing desks in their classrooms by visiting the following link.
US Schools Spending on Standing Classrooms
An American public school district has spent over $30,000 on flexible seating in the process of revising their campus facilities. School board records show that Illinois based David Jakes Designs has been paid that much as a consultant plus the cost of the furniture itself to provide expertise and design advice to schools such as Union High School on implementing flexible seating options.
One reporter for The Columbian wrote about her experience visiting the school. She describes the classrooms as being akin to a tech company start-up with students on couches, leaning over small circular tables and using standing desks. This is yet another example of how creative seating options are gradually becoming commonplace in American education facilities. We recently wrote about how one Californian elementary school has become entirely standing.
Recent research demonstrates that standing students engage more, are more productive and stay on-task for longer in the learning space.
“It gives students much more choice to say ‘I need to do this for my learning today” Jakes said
Woodland Intermediate School embraced flexible seating back in 2016 They integrated talks to students from occupational therapists who educated students on the "alert program" and to be "self-aware of their bodies" allowing them to try alternate seating options before choosing what they like the most at the beginning of classes. Results were overwhelmingly positive. Students were excited to go to class, they found their learning spaces fun, exciting and they were more relaxed.
“This isn’t some sort of magic pill, but activity and movement in the classroom during schoolwork can have a big impact,”
Mark Benden, Texas A&M University
Bendan is published in the American Journal of Public Health with a study that illustrates standing desks can slow the increase in elementary school children’s B.M.I. by 5% - Body Mass Index is an early indicator of obesity.
Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the U.K. More than 24,000 children in England are now considered severely obese whilst 116,000 children are deemed obese. UK public health officials and government initiatives have put preventative methods at the top of the NHS agenda to counteract general ill health and the obesity problem.
UK schools can now access sports premium funding in order to facilitate the purchase of standing desks for their classrooms.
Over a hundred UK schools have introduced standing desks as a result of successful Eiger Standing Desk trials. Your school can try student standing desks for negligible cost by filling in this form. you may also wish to ask us about financial support options to implement creative seating.
Junk Food Adverts OUT, Veg Power IN. Is the UK Finally Standing Up For Kids Health?
A new measure to help tackle the growing epidemic of childhood obesity has been implemented in London as of February 25th. The London transport network can now no longer carry advertising for food which is deemed to be overly fatty or high in sugar. The impact of this cannot be underestimated and should be rolled out nationwide according to Dr Stuart Flint, of Leeds Beckett University who contributed to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity. He said;
“This policy is needed across the UK, not just in London. Local authorities should be considering this policy and the potential impact that it could on child and adult health nationally.”
The ban also extends to roundabouts, bus stops, taxis and trams and is designed to reduce the glamorisation of junk food to kids. London has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in Europe with almost 40% of 10-11 year old's being obese.
A spokesperson for the mayor said:
"The mayor is confident these changes will not only reduce children's exposure to junk food advertising, but also empower Londoners to make healthier food choices for themselves and their families."
This is however only shining a light on a more national problem. Obesity rates are sky rocketing as are rates of diabetes type 2 according to new figures from Diabetes UK over 7000 young people in the UK now have it. Physical literacy is also at an all-time low due to our children’s overuse of devices and increased screen time.
There was a study on the influence of social media influencers who actively showed themselves engaging in eating unhealthy products and this demonstrated that children who watched influencers who ate unhealthy products on air measured an increase in unhealthy food within their diets. The same test was done with healthy food and this had very little effect. From this we can extrapolate that kids don’t need much of a nudge to eat poorly and marketing has a significant effect on their eating habits and their perceptions of food.
It will be much more of an uphill battle to glamourize eating healthy but as a nation we have a responsibility to ensure our children’s attitudes towards fruit and veg stays on course. The study data is here.
80% of British kids don’t eat enough veg. There is however a very cool new ITV backed campaign called Veg Power which takes the fight to veg and positions them as the bad guys with the only way to defeat them being to eat them. Veg Power is supported by a host of familiar names in the fight against childhood obesity some of which include Jamie Oliver, ITV, Ella’s Kitchen, Oxford University, Iceland, Birdseye, Morrison’s and Tesco’s
Schools in the UK can do their part to combat childhood obesity. They can request sticker and poster packs here; give your location and number of KS2 pupils to ask for a support pack. Or alternatively download Veg Power posters charts and more to promote the "Eat Them To Defeat Them" message on the following link.
Iwantastandingdesk.com proactively support over a hundred UK schools to implement standing desks into their classrooms keeping movement and active lifestyles a priority in their learning spaces. They see the benefits of this not just in more alert and engaged students but also statistics prove that their children are out-performing inactive students by 16%. Movement is imperative to good mental and physical health. It combats obesity which is linked to cancer and early death.
UK schools can request student standing desk trials here by filling in this very short form.
With new advertising bans alongside campaigns to demonstrate the importance of healthy eating to kids set to a backdrop of a changing curriculum to include health messages it seems that our government is finally waking up to the dire issues arising in our young people and their lifestyles.
Disturbingly children's expected lifespans are now 5 years shorter than our own for the first time in history. We desperately need more initiatives to empower children to make the right choices for themselves and encourage them to get outside and get active so they grow up to become healthy well rounded adults in this ever changing tech led world we have created for them.
Veg Power, School Standing Desks and The Daily Mile are all ways in which schools can help to combat the growing childhood obesity problem. Some schools are proactive in supporting healthy messaging...Is your school contributing to the problem of sedentary behaviour and its negative impacts or providing solutions to tackle childhood obesity? There are certainly lots of ways to have a positive impact. Time to start getting stuck in.
Kids To Be Taught To Sleep + Go Outside With Friends in 2020
It seems the government is backing up its claims that preventative medicine and mental health are now a priority. Following pressure to vastly improve our country’s safeguarding of vulnerable groups now by September 2020 school children as young as 4 years old will be taught compulsory lessons about the importance of sleep, looking after their own mental health, relationships and going outside. The new lessons will be part of the broader revised curriculum which will also cover for secondary school pupils, the dangers of sexting, spotting anxiety amongst their friends and the importance of staying safe on the internet.
They will be taught about nutrition, staying active and the link between mental and physical health. And that online time shouldn’t replace playing outside.
"So many things about the way people interact have changed, and this new world, seamless between online and offline, can be difficult to navigate...Almost 20 years on from the last time guidance on sex education was updated, there is a lot to catch up on."
"It will help children learn how to look after themselves, physically and mentally.”
Education Secretary Damian Hinds
The is a notable rise in sleep disorders often attributed to night time screen time which has recently been advised against by the UK’s chief medical officers to be curtailed.
Researchers announced in a British Medical Journal study that sleep deprivation is a serious issue likely to cause more impact on a child’s well-being than bullying, physical activity and screen time. You can read about the study here.
In the meantime for teachers who want to get ahead of the game, in January the PSHE published sleep factor lesson plans which are available to download here: The free to download lesson plans teach children to;
• recognise what good quality sleep is and why it is important
• identify habits and routines that promote good quality sleep
• understand how sleep patterns change during adolescence
The new plans for sex and lifestyle based education has however received some criticism and after a 106,000 signatures have been gathered the issue of parents wanting the right to opt out their children will now be debated in parliament next Monday. It is worth noting that Parents will still have the right to withdraw their child up to age 15 although headteachers will be encouraged to discuss with parents the potential negatives of withdrawing their child, so it seems there will be pressure imposed to include your child.
“We believe that these changes are absolutely essential in creating an educated and self-aware generation next. In schools the teaching of physical literacy is malnourished and needs improvement …this is certainly a welcome step in letting children take some ownership through understanding their own health and it's importance.
"I know that Education Secretary Hinds said £6 million would be made available to cover training and resources, hopefully the initiative and the funding allowance will be built upon if the government genuinely expects any sweeping changes in outcomes.
"We work with over a hundred schools on improving their flexible seating options to enhance their pupils development from this we know first hand that even small changes can have a tremendous impact.”
Nick White, Eiger Standing Desks / iwantastandingdesk.com
You may also want to read about;
2.3 Million Kids Are Inactive & Sharp Rise in Obesity Related Cancers in Children
Teach or Tech. Apples Reach is Hitting the Education Sector.
Apples push into the education sector has hit the headlines again as Metro has written a rather glowing account of their education tech designed to bolster creativity and coding skills with free classroom apps and a 9.7inch iPad designed for school pupils. It seems Apple is aiming to make the iPad as essential as the calculator once was in schools.
Apple has combined these Everyone Can Code and Everyone Can Create iPad focused curriculum apps with a classroom app that allows teachers to keep an eye on their students iPad use and track them effectively whilst providing feedback and guidance.
Simon Pile, the Assistant Head teacher at Anson Primary School in London explained ‘iPad allows me to create a curriculum that is engaging and relevant, to give every student a voice…It gives students the opportunity to have a personalised learning journey that is packed with creative opportunities.’
Remember this? It was essential until the calculator came along.
Now apples push into education could be seen as a cynical attempt to get our children hooked on iPad tech from an early age – almost positioning the iPad as an essential learning aid. Their efforts to romance schools isn't without its critics however Apple claims their motivations are entirely altruistic and not at all focused on reaping a return on investment by turning our children into future brand consumers by exposing them to Apple tech as early as possible.
Our Voice:
Here at IWASD we would suggest that children are already hooked on technology and amidst the NHS guidelines that screen time should be reduced its hard to see a case for implementing more tech and screen time into the children’s school day however at the same time we actively encourage schools who seek to find new creative ways to get their pupils using real world experiences and getting off the bums and away from their desks to learn lessons.
It seems nobody has asked the question of apple as to whether they believe they are compacting the problems associated with greater screen time in our children. For example we recently reported that excessive screen time is now linked to 12 deadly cancers in children. So whilst the short term desire to have our kids embrace tablets to get out and about might in fact have a detrimental effect on them culturally if they grow up plugged into the matrix one has to wonder how will they ever leave it?
Amid a landscape where childhood obesity is soaring and MacDonald's being delivered to schools in the UK, instead of sycophantic articles sucking up to multi billion pound brands heralding their tech as having a positive influence on our children's development without regard for reporting on any downside instead it would be nice to for once acknowledge that we live in a world where our teachers can come up with methods for students to get interested and get active without the aid of a screen based devices luring them to do it. They've been doing this for years. Apple didn't invent going outside.
Lets make time to promote our teachers who aren't using tech as a crutch and who's own creativity and diversity of their lesson planning lets them come up with a reason to get outside other than an app. Lets's promote physical literacy alongside technological literacy and importantly lets start listening to the expert advice to reduce screen time for our children instead of embedding it into our children's daily lives so inextricably as building it into the curriculum.
Apples push into schools makes our children early adopters exposed to the Apple brand and be more likely to become future consumers. Apple want the language of computing to have iPads in the scope and it's not beyond this writers imagination that their education programs are designed to familiarise the next generation with their tech for cynical reasons. Whilst their big brand sway has media outlets clamouring to flatter them in the process it's hard to see how they will fail. Brands are the new idols and bloggers are the new evangelists so just keep an eye open for objectivity amongst the sea of honeyed words.
Get Involved! Next week is Children's Mental Health Week (4-10 February)
Next week is Children's Mental Health Week and the theme of the year is to be Healthy: Inside and Out. Looking after bodies and minds is a message very much in keeping with the benefits UK schools report back to us they experience with classroom standing desks.
Pupils actively look forward to classes with flexible seating options and can move more freely and express themselves confidently. Active pupils are reportedly more productive and more likely to engage the lesson. Good mental health we believe is essential to fostering an environment suitable for learning and allowing our children to be well rounded and happy. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
MacDonald’s Being Delivered to Schools Amid Childhood Diabetes Crisis
SUMMARY: MacDonalds are being delivered to schools despite the anti-obesity ban amid the backdrop of a Birmingham Child Type 2 Diabetes epidemic undermining headmasters efforts to inject healthy culture into schools. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Bringing Physical Literacy Into The Classroom With Student Standing Desks
Recent reports showed our children’s lives are now expected to last 5 years less due to the growing childhood obesity epidemic. One notion gaining currency as part of the solution and increasingly adopted by mindful teachers as a method of injecting a cultural shift their classrooms. Physical Literacy.Physical literacy is the ability, balance, confidence, desire and exploratory nature to live an active, healthy life. Student Standing desks can be used to integrate physical literacy at minimal effort.