Leading experts speak out about the need for physical activities for children:

• Most children learn by moving and doing. 85% of children are natural kinesthetic learners.
  
• Play is important in early brain development.
  
• Movement facilitates awareness, thinking and judgment all of which play key roles in learning.
  
• The general window of opportunity to build basic gross motor skills appears to be open from the prenatal period to around age five.
  
• The primary motor circuits that control posture and coordination forge during the first two years.
  
• Obesity among our nation’s youth has tripled in the last two decades. Obesity and physical inactivity are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
  
• All children age 2 and older should participate in at least 30 minutes of enjoyable,
  moderate-intensity activities every day. They should also perform at least 30 minutes of vigorous physical activities at least 3-4 days each week to achieve and maintain a good level of cardiorespiratory (heart and lung) fitness.
  
• School-age youths should participate, on most days of the week, in 60 minutes of various moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
  
• Helping children adopt an active lifestyle early will have a tremendous impact on their physical, intellectual and emotional development.
  
• Physical activity as a young child can promote an active and healthy lifestyle as an adult.
  
• A number of studies have demonstrated that increased physical activity is linked to better school performance.

Sources: Brain Gym®, earlychildhood.com, actionbasedlearning.com, National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics, American Heart Association, American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (Sep/Oct ’07 issue), The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (Sep ’07 issue).