Summer is the perfect time to get kids moving and help get them away from their gadgets.
Sandy Earle, the city’s active community programmer, said it’s important to get the kids off the couch in the summertime.
“I think it’s crucial, it’s absolutely crucial, especially with the epidemic of obesity and overweight in children today,” she said. “Kids spend way too much time in front of a screen. Just getting them out and doing stuff is really, really important.”
The Participaction program has established some guidelines for children aged five to 11 aimed at minimizing sedentary behaviours such as sitting for long periods, watching television, playing on the computer or video games, or using motorized transportation such as a bus or car. It recommends children be limited to no more than two hours per day of recreational screen time.
“They should be active at least an hour a day. That’s 60 minutes that kids should be striving for,” Earle said. “Parents play a huge role in that. They need to be role models. If parents are demonstrating that they are active, it permeates down into the whole family.”
A 2012 report by Statistics Canada suggested that nearly one-third of five- to 17-year-olds were overweight or obese.
“Since the late 1970s, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has risen among children and adolescents in Canada,” states the report. “Excess weight in childhood has been linked to insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, poor emotional health and diminished social well-being. As well, obese children tend to become obese adults, making childhood obesity a public health concern.”
Tracking activity can be a valuable and fun activity for the family, Earle said.
“I know with my own kids, years ago we used to keep track on a great big chart what we did for the summer. It was fun. We always illustrated it on a great big chart. We started at the end of the school year, and we would add every activity we did in the summer to that chart. They would draw the activities on there. It was a real list by the end of the summer. You could see all the things we had done.”
Not only was the chart a good way to keep track of all their summertime fun, Earle said it also helped make the kids aware of all the activities they were doing.
Jo-An Cornelius, a mom of three, has no trouble finding ways of keeping her kids on the go in New West in the summer.
“We usually go to the park, have a picnic. We will have dinner here – we will bring the barbecue because we can’t have it at our apartment,” she said. “We like going to Moody Park, just because it’s convenient.”
Cornelius took her kids to Grimston Park a lot when they were younger, as they enjoyed the wading pool.
“Now that the kids are older they like to go to Queen’s Park or Moody Park. The youth centre is here for my older one, so there’s always something to do,” she said. “Pier Park is a great park, too – we love it, just the atmosphere. It’s great for me to enjoy the scenery, the kids have lots to do – it feels like I can let the older kids go off and do their own thing and they’ll have fun.”
The Cornelius clan is also fond of the city’s Canada Day fireworks and the various festivals taking place throughout the city.
Perennial favourites for families include the Queen’s Park petting farm, the wading pool at Grimston Park, and the Moody Park and Hume Park outdoor pools. Families can enjoy a walk along the trails in Glenbrook Ravine Park or Hume Park or check out the river while enjoying a walk at Sapperton Landing, Westminster Pier Park, the waterfront esplanade or the Queensborough riverfront.
“There are a lot of those little pocket parks around New West that people don’t even realize are around,” Earle said. “Exploring your neighbourhood sometimes with kids is sometimes really valuable – and it’s fun, too.”
Exploring neighbourhoods was one of the reasons local walking advocate Mary Wilson spearheaded Jane’s Walks in New Westminster in 2013. While adults will go for a walk for the sheer pleasure of the experience, she believes there has to be a “payoff” for kids to go for a walk.
“Kids need a reason to go, they need a reward,” she said. “They don’t want to walk and look at the scenery or look at the landscaping. They are active and they want a destination.”
Earle, who leads walking groups, agrees it’s best to have a destination for kids, whether it’s the library, the farmers’ market or the park.
Marjorie Staal, executive director of New Westminster Family Place, said activities of all sorts appeal to children. She said kids love visiting Friendship Gardens to watch the ducks swimming in the pond, walking to the park and enjoying a picnic, and exploring pocket parks such as the Toronto Place Park (at the corner of Eighth Street and Royal Avenue), which is home to the child-size public art feature, Puddle Jumper.
“It’s nice for them to see quieter places,” Staal said. “If a parent thinks like a child, there are lots of places in New West they can take them to. Those small things are interesting for children.”
While there’s an abundance of outdoor fun to be had in New Westminster, kids can also keep moving indoors with a swim at Canada Games Pool or a skate at Moody Park Arena. There’s always some kid-friendly activity on the go at River Market and Fraser River Discovery Centre.
“The centre is set up to be a giant program every day,” says Catherine Ouellet-Martin, the centre’s executive director. “All our exhibits have a lot of hands-on activities that the kids can come and do any day of the summer.”
Earle has personally seen the benefits of establishing healthy activity habits in children that carry on into adulthood.
“I have see it with my own kids – we kept them really active as children and they are active adults. They have all grown up to do that. They will hop on their bikes, they will go for a walk, they will go for a hike,” she said. “Doing that with them as kids has carried on with them into their adult life. It was very important.”
Ideas for summer fun
Need some ideas on how to get the kids moving and keep them busy this summer? Here are a few hints:
* Kids New West: Surf the Kids New West website for some great ideas about local offerings for kids. The Kids New West Summer Activity Guide is a great resource and is chock full of ideas that will help you keep kids busy in the summer. Drop by Centennial Community Centre to pick up a copy or view it online at www.kidsnewwest.ca.
* New Westminster Family Place: Join Family Place at its upcoming Sun Fun in the Park field trips (weather permitting); Aug. 7 – Sapperton Park; Aug. 14 – Moody Park; Aug. 21 – Grimston Park; and Aug. 28 – Queen’s Park. For information, call 604-520-3666.
* New Westminster Parks, Culture and Recreation: Check out the parks department’s website, which contains maps of the city’s parks and trails and much more. You can also find all of the city’s activity guides, including the Affordable Active Living 2014 and Come Outside and Play in New West, online at www.newwestpcr.ca.
