Kansas City youth not getting the recommended levels of physical activity, preliminary research shows
According to preliminary research from the 2020 Kansas City Regional Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, only 42.5% of youth in the Kansas City area are getting the recommended level of physical activity (60 minutes) each day.
Research also shows the percentage tends to decline with age, as teenagers are found to be the least active subset of individuals within the study. That was one of the many initial findings the Aspen Institute shared at its State of Play Kansas City Summit in April. The full report card can be found here.
During this event, attendees heard from various panels of experts from the Kansas City area to discuss different barriers that factor into their findings. The panels ranged from those who work in youth sports to youth currently involved in sports.
There were many common barriers mentioned, one of which being parent involvement or lack thereof in some cases.
With parents becoming disengaged with their children’s sports, youth sports are seeing a decrease in volunteers to help their programs continue running. One youth player on a different panel mentioned parents should be out there being active with their kids to provide encouragement.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some parents are becoming overly involved with their children’s success in sports, which leads to increased pressure to perform well and, in turn, can lead to burnout at a young age.
- Panel 1
- Panel 2
- Panel 3
This was discussed on the youth athlete panel, with many of the players advocating for parents to support kids in the way that is best for the child’s needs. One player talked about how she made it an open dialogue and talked to her parents about how they can support her in the way she needs.
Outside of parent involvement, the event also touched on the fact that organized sports aren’t always available to everyone—whether that’s due to financial constraints or physical abilities. For children and youth with disabilities, it can be difficult to find opportunities to play organized sports that are accessible to them.
“How do we bridge the gap and make inclusion really possible? So, we’re bridging the gap having wheelchair basketball players and regular able-bodied basketball players do a scrimmage,” said Wesley Hamilton, executive director of Disabled But Not Really.
This was yet another topic mentioned during the youth sports panel by a player who has a disability. She expressed the importance of offering more adaptive opportunities for youth and children while also giving them the opportunity to play with their able-bodied peers.
One place that helps promote activity for children and youth—despite its inconclusive grade in the report card and varying laws/requirements between Kansas and Missouri—is schools. Schools allow students of all ages and abilities to participate in various physical activities, which students might decide to continue outside of school.
USTA Missouri Valley provides training for physical education teachers to bring tennis into their curriculum in the five-state region covered (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma as well as parts of Illinois). This spring, the PE teacher training was introduced to the Kansas City School District.
Christine Scharenberg, curriculum and instructional coach with the Kansas City, Kan. schools, spoke about the positive impact this training had on the PE teachers in attendance and how kids in the school system will now get to experience tennis as a result.
The Kansas City Physical Activity Plan is being developed as a result of this initial research. The full report will be available later this fall.
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