How to work out your kids sporting ability?

For the majority of us , we categories kids and adults  sporting ability into 3 groups.

• Good
• In the middle
• Sports just not their thing

But, when our little kiddies start to play sport - how do we know into which category they will fall?  For years sports scientists have focused on physical tests to try and identify exceptional athletes. And of course there is always genetics. If our kids are lucky enough to come from a long lineage of great sportsmen then we  anticipate that they will  have a head start on the playing fields. We all know to excel in anything in life, dedication, passion and hard work are necessary. But, I am sure there are lots of us out there that hope our kids get a bit of a help from their genetics in their chosen kids activities.

But, now a simpler approach to identify our kids sporting ability has been identified. The University of Montreal. has conducted a  study the first of its kind in the world. Full details of the study can be found here. However, in short the more TV and screen time our kids have,the less sporting ability they have and the bigger they become. Researchers said " at 4,5 years of age, the children's waist size increased by slightly less than half a millimeter for every extra weekly hour of TV the child was watching on top of what they had been watching when he or she was 2.5. To put it another way, a child who watches 18 hours of television at 4.5 years of age will by the age of 10 have an extra 7.6 millimeters of waist because of his or her habits."

Have you worked out your kids sporting ability?   Are you scared?

Most of us parents don't really need a study to tell us this. Sometimes I think it's so obvious. Kids sit in front of their screens, eating and drinking junk food. And then due to all the technology, zapping their brains  they are too tired to go outside and get some fresh air or play.

We are so lucky in Australia, to have access to so many fantastic sporting venues, many of which are free. We need to take advantage of these venues and get our kids into some kids activities.

If you are struggling to find sporting venues or need some ideas for your kids activities, I am sure you will find something to help you in the activeactivities.co.za directory.

Kids, please try to eat healthy and exercise every day in some small way. Its your body you are looking after.

Remember to always have Fun Kids!