Physical Inactivity: Who’s to blame?

If you’ve been reading the blog you’ll know that recently Saskatchewan in motion ran a contest for Saskatchewan’s youth. The contest was designed to connect with people ages 13-19 across the province who are interested in physical activity, and the physical inactivity crisis. We posted daily trivia on many of our social media outlets including facebook, twitter and this blog of course. We engaged loads of passionate young people and gave out some great prizes!

Part of the contest was the opportunity for Saskatchewan’s youth to submit a blog and win a chance to be featured here on Generation Action as a guest blogger. Out of the entries (which were all fabulous, thank you so much everyone for submitting) Ogema’s own Katie Bacon was selected by the staff here at basecamp as our winner!

Congratulations to Katie on her great piece of work!

 So here is a little about Katie and her thoughts on the physical inactivity crisis, enjoy.

My name is Katie Bacon. I grew up on a farm by a small town called Ogema. I like being outdoors and doing all kinds of activities including baseball, volleyball, swimming and dance to name a few. I love being with my friends and family and having fun!
 
Thanks so much to Sask in motion for these awesome prizes!

Physical Inactivity: Who’s to blame?

I remember when I was in elementary school, we had to go outside no matter how cold it was. Before the morning bell rang at 9:00, during our 10 minute recesses, and throughout the entire lunch hour, we were kicked outside to play.

Nowadays when I visit my old school, the kids are allowed to sit in the porches because it is “too cold.”

As I watch the kids outside, they hardly play any games. My classmates and I always used to play tag, cops and robbers, boys chase girls, push down (although the teachers didn’t approve) and any other games you could think of that included running around and being active. In the summer we would get out the skipping ropes, and in the winter we would bring our sleds. Half the kids these days don’t even know all the different cool rhymes that you sing while swinging the skipping rope around and around. That was the best part of it all, teasing each other as we made up stories and rhymes about who is kissing who. Kids these days are missing out!

Also, when I was younger our town had many hockey teams, baseball teams, a figure skating club, etc. Everyone played because that is what you were expected to do. I probably didn’t even have a choice about participating when I think about it. In the summer you did baseball and swimming lessons, and in the winter you did skating and sledding. I probably didn’t want to go some days, but I did what my parents said and that was that.  I believe this is the way it should be. We weren’t allowed to sit and watch TV or play video games all day. If we did, you would hear “Get your butt off the couch and do something!” We had chores, responsibilities and hobbies that kept us busy. Kids are allowed too many choices. If they say, “But I don’t want to”, they don’t have to, which is crazy. They don’t know what is right for them when they are eight. So make them be active!

To sum it up, parents and authority figures, such as teachers and community leaders, are to blame in my opinion. I know that’s a pretty strong and harsh opinion, but it’s what I think. Kids aren’t fragile and lazy unless you mold them that way. In a way kids are babied too much. They need to toughen up and not be afraid of hurting themselves for running too fast or jumping too far. Kids need to be pushed and who knows, maybe they will find out they actually like it, or have a natural gift for a certain sport or activity. You will never know unless you make them try!

By Katie Bacon.