3 Factors that Contributed to Children’s Low Physical Activity Levels

Studies have shown that children’s physical activity levels decreased significantly during the pandemic. Meanwhile, screen time has increased to the detriment of young children’s physical and social development.

Isolation Measures
As children were restricted from outdoor activities due to the virus, lack of space meant they were also restrained from being more physically active. Most of the time, the only access they had to wide open spaces where they were allowed to play and be more active was through their childcare center.

Childcare Closures
However, due to the rapid intermittent spread of the virus in childcare centers, even these spaces were repeatedly subjected to mandated closures after exposure to the virus. This further limited young children’s access to spaces that encouraged them to be more active.
Meanwhile, parents were also affected by the closures as they now have to both work and care for their young children at the same time.

Increased Screen Time
As childcare centers closed, parents resorted to a digital nanny of sorts, which led to increased screen time to the detriment of engaging physical activity which required more monitoring and effort.
While some childcare providers also tried to pivot to digital classrooms in order to keep their children engaged and learning, there was only so much they could transmit digitally. Fighting against young children’s natural limited attention spans and physical distance, activities were very limited and often were not conducive to having physical activities.

However, as COVID-19 rules are relaxed, childcare centers are less likely to close, although some classrooms are still shuttered due to lack of childcare staff. While parents are still waiting for vaccines for their youngest children, more parents are getting more confident in letting their children experience more outdoor activities. This is especially after the CDC guidelines advising outdoor activities are preferable and safer when it comes to lower risk of infection and contact with the virus.