Kids Are Being Lazy Bums In Daycare Thanks To Overprotective, Type-A Parents

More than half of kids between the ages of three and five spend time in daycare or preschools these days, but many of them aren’t getting any exercise. After surveying 49 childcare providers in Cincinnati, researchers noted that the biggest obstacle was often parents.

Feeling pressure from moms and dads to concentrate on classroom-based learning, daycares and nursery schools are shaving off time outdoors. Some parents in the study were also noted to specifically ask that their child not partake in “vigorous” outdoor activity on the playground for fear that they’ll get hurt. And even when kids did express interest tackling a jungle gym or a merry-go-round, researchers noted that kids often got bored quickly with the equipment or tired. Other times, kids would modify the playground equipment and use it unsafely in an effort to not get bored. “Stimulating” playground equipment could not always be afforded by daycares, in some cases. [tagbox tag=”daycare”]

Reuters reports that The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education suggest that preschoolers play for somewhere between 90 minutes and two hours a day for proper development. But because so many parents are fixated on establishing those strong study skills right out of the womb, toddlers and young children are missing out:

“Young children learn by moving,” said Russell Pate, a professor at the University of South Carolina who was not involved in this study. “I am concerned that preschools and child care centers are placing a very heavy focus on the development of pre-academic skills.”

In light of Georgia’s new fat-shaming anti-obesity ads which wag a firm finger at parents, these findings also seem to shoulder some blame onto mommies and daddies for not encouraging enough physical activity.

(photo: Shutterstock)