Encourage kids’ activity, limit their screen use, advises pediatrician
Among the things parents can do to raise healthy children is to encourage physical activity. Government guidelines prescribe an hour a day of moderate to vigorous activity for most children and teens. Some of that is done at school, notes Travis Hobart, MD, an Upstate pediatrician. He discusses various types of exercise, which are often part of normal play. To further discourage sedentary habits, parents should limit children‘s use of electronic screens -- computers, TV, tablets, phones –- and he recommends the American Academy of Pediatrics website for guidelines on physical activity, media use and other health topics.