Exercise makes your heart happy and your heart is one hardworking part, pumping blood every day of your life. The heart is a muscle, and it's the strongest muscle in your body - but it's always looking to become even stronger! Since it can't lift weights to get stronger, it relies on you to do aerobic exercise. Aerobic is a fancy word for needing oxygen, and aerobic exercise is any kind of activity that makes your muscles use oxygen. Aerobic exercise is repetitive; meaning it's an activity you do over and over, to keep bringing fresh oxygen to all of your muscles. When you do aerobic exercise and bring in that oxygen, your heart becomes stronger and even a tiny bit bigger. The number of blood cells in your blood increases, so the blood can carry even more oxygen. The blood in your body even

Exercise keeps you at a healthy weight. A good exercise program and a proper diet go hand and hand. Every time you eat food, your body does the same thing: it uses some of the nutrients in the food as fuel. It burns these nutrients to give us energy or calories. You need calories for all of your body's functions, whether it's things you think about doing, like brushing your teeth, or things you never think about doing, like breathing. So it's important for kids to get all the calories they need from the foods they eat. But if the body isn't able to use all the calories that are coming from food, it stores them away as fat. And that's why exercise helps keep a kid at a weight that's right for his height, by burning up extra calories. When you exercise, your body uses that extra fuel to keep you going strong.

Exercise makes you flexible. Can you touch your toes easily without yelling "ouch"? Most kids are pretty flexible, which means that they can bend and stretch their bodies without too much trouble. But as people get older they tend to get less flexible, so that's why it's important to exercise when you're a kid - so you can stay flexible. Plus, when you're flexible, you can be more active without having to worry about getting sprains and strained muscles. Luckily, it's easy to find things to do for good flexibility. Tumbling and gymnastics are great ways to become more flexible as are yoga and dancing, especially ballet. And for fans of karate, tae kwon do, and other martial arts, you're in luck: these sports are great for flexibility - you'll be feeling fine and having fun! (Schmitt p. 627)

Children may become increasingly competitive and even dream of becoming Olympic or professional athletes. Always encourage your child's interest and help them find the appropriate level at which to play/compete. Some children's talents are wasted when they are not encouraged by proper competition. Listen carefully to your child and never force them to "win" at all costs. If your child is not physically active during his or her teen years, this could set the stage for a sedentary lifestyle. Plan family outings that involve activity, such as hiking, biking or swimming. Plan a family walk each night after

moves more easily through the blood vessels. All these things mean that your body works more efficiently to keep you healthy and you can do lots of exercise without getting worn out. It's a good idea for kids to do some kind of aerobic exercise two or three times a week, for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. It's not hard to do - some excellent aerobic activities are swimming, basketball, ice or roller hockey, jogging (or walking quickly), inline skating, soccer, cross-country skiing, biking, and rowing. Even dancing, skipping, jumping rope, and playing hopscotch are aerobic activities. Exercise makes muscles and all the muscles in your body do a fine job when you use them for easy stuff, like picking up a book or walking down the stairs. But what about using them for harder stuff, like taking long bike rides or climbing a tree? That's where exercise comes in: it makes your muscles get stronger and sometimes larger. As your muscles get stronger, you can do more active things for longer periods of time and strong muscles also help protect you from injuries when you exercise, because they give better support to your joints (where your bones meet). (Schmitt p. 179)

Children in this age group begin to use basic motor skills to build more complex movements. Bicycling, roller and/or ice skating, and swimming are good skills to teach. Your child can now play longer and harder and can become involved in organized group or team play. Encouraging your child to join a group can build their self-confidence and help them learn the value of teamwork. Exposure to a wide range of physical experiences will help your child figure out his or her likes and dislikes.

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