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| Etobicoke Guardian | Thursday, January 12, 2017
Dr. Amanpreet Chopra
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How to get your kids to play outside in the winter DOMINIK KUREK dkurek@thetopic.ca
can go out and play in the snow, doing such things as tobogganing, making snowmen and forts, throwing snowballs and more. There’s also free outdoor skating around Toronto. If you live in an urban area such as downtown Toronto where there are few open park spaces, go out and explore your city, Janson said. "Kids don’t always need a structured activity or plan in order to have a good time. If you were to go walk down by the waterfront with your kids on a beautiful day, I guarantee they would find something to play with," Janson said. "If you are weaving physical activities and opportunities for play and exploration into your family activities, that will become part of what your children come to expect when they’re with their family," she said. The City of Toronto has 50 outdoor skating rinks, which are open seven days a week. Skate rentals are also available at many of the locations. For a full list of locations and hours visit bit.ly/outdoorrinksto
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It’s winter, no doubt about it, which means some parents may be struggling even harder to get their children to go outside and play. But children need outdoor play, stresses Toronto-based, national nonprofit ParticipACTION, which says only 9 per cent of Canadian kids get the one hour of required physical activity per day, which the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guideline suggests children aged 5 to 17 should get. And winter should not be a reason for not being active, ParticipACTION says. "It’s about embracing winter rather than enduring winter. If kids learn how to skate and how to toboggan and have exposure to those at a young age, they realize how much fun it is and they have a certain level of competence to be able to enjoy it," said Katherine Janson, director of communication at ParticipACTION. "I think it’s our responsibility as parents that our kids get access to the basic
skills on the snow, on the ice, to be able to learn the basics so that they can go to the skating party and have fun." Janson admits it’s tough to get your kids outside. Putting on winter wear is sometimes a workout in itself, but it’s worth it. "The magic of the outdoors is that once you get the kids outdoors, they naturally move more," she said. Technology such as TV, families not making active choices together such as choosing to drive rather than walk to school, or parental behaviour such as texting at the dinner table, are some of the barriers to kids wanting to go outside. Janson suggests parents start early in their kids’ lives in creating active choices for their families as healthy habits start forming at a younger age than most parents realize. Parents should limit TV time, walk to places when possible, and do active things together. This will make it easier for parents to get their kids to go out and play. Play doesn’t need to be structured, either. Kids
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Children take to the ice as Queen Victoria Public School students received skates and a skating lesson at High Park rink back in January. The High Park rink is open for another season of skating.
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