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(female narrator) Kids love to move.
It's easy to see the joy in their faces and body language
when they're in motion.
Movement helps children develop their thinking,
communication and social skills
as they explore and interact with their surroundings.
Development of a baby's big muscles also known as
"gross motor development" is the foundation of movement.
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We've asked five experts in the field of child development
to share their thoughts
on this subject.
Dr. Aline Yamashita has trained a generation
of early childhood professionals at the university level.
Gross motor for our babies means them
being able to lift up their heads, being able to roll over,
being able to pull up, being able to sit up,
being able to stand,
being able to take those first steps,
being able to creep
and crawl and run.
That the more opportunities we give our kids
to go out there and move, they explore, they have
a better opportunity to develop and to grow,
to understand themselves,
to come in tune with their own bodies,
to have a better understanding on how to work with others.
Getting outside and playing with themselves,
playing with other children,
we know that physical activity breeds more physical activity.
It energizes them, it awakens them.
Physical development is really key to academic intelligence
it helps the brains, the brain cells grow.
(narrator) Outdoor play is one of the best ways
to promote the gross motor development of young children.
According to the National Health and Safety Performance Standards,
physical activity serves as a vital energizer
and organizer for cognitive development.
One of the standards specifically addresses
the benefits of playing outdoors, not only
for the physical advantages, but also because it's
where infectious disease and organisms are less concentrated.
In addition, exposure to sunlight
promotes production of Vitamin D.
Dr. Edgardo Hildago, a local pediatrician,
endorses this recommendation
of encouraging play and being outdoors.
While outside, if we use a dose of common sense
and allow them to have a free space,
enjoy fresh air, exposing them to the good sun
for their vitamin D metabolism,
making sure that there are no other--
and safe areas like, for example, cars,
and animals and loose objects or sharp objects.
(narrator) Dr. Robert Leon Guerrero, another Guam pediatrician, share
similar thoughts on promoting gross motor development.
In addition to providing young kids
the opportunity to play outside,
he advises parents not to carry their children too much.
He tells them to put them down on the ground and let them
roll and crawl so they can use and build their muscles.
I also tell them,
let them explore their environment with,
within supervision, so within certain restrictions.
You don't want them to be running all over the place
like on the streets, and places where it's unsafe.
You want to make sure that the environment is safe though,
so that you don't want a lot of sharp objects,
a lot of furniture with edges,
but you should let them move around
without being hindered as much.
Walkers, we don't recommend--
kind of stifles their development.
Plus walkers can also be dangerous.
They can tip over, and they try to climb up and they fall off.
So let them walk, let them crawl,
let them move around within reason, with supervision.
They need to develop their big muscles
like their arm and leg muscles.
They can't do that really indoors as well unless you have
one of these houses that have an indoor gym.
They need to go outside and run
and experience outside activities.
Yes, they're going to get dirty but again,
they're developing their big muscles
which they can't really do as well indoors.
Now again, it has to be with supervision.
You don't want them to be running around
and then they run out into the streets.
You don't want them climbing up a tree and then falling off,
so you need to supervise their activity.
(narrator) Unfortunately, adults on Guam
often discourage children from going outside.
Dr. Yamashita acknowledges this practice
but shares her thoughts
on how to deal with this local attitude.
I think on Guam we have a tendency
to keep our kids inside
and I think that we want to really think about
having them going outside, at least balancing that.
We don't go outside for many reasons.
One is, it's really hot out there.
There aren't a lot of trees. We don't like to sweat.
But I think as parents and as teachers,
we need to really think about
the benefits of having our kids going outside.
It's really important for kids to go outside,
to breathe the fresh air,
to soak in the sunshine,
to appreciate the space out there.
I think as a people, the Guam community likes to be clean,
and there is a lot of good things about that,
to want to be clean and healthy.
But I think there is a lot to also be said about
working up a really good sweat and allowing our babies
and toddlers to go out there and sweat.
When we go to grandma's house
and we get to swing for a little bit.
We go outside and we walk around the yard
and we notice the flowers that are finally blooming
or look at the mangos that are growing off the trees.
We may worry about our babies getting
hot and sweaty and a little stinky.
But our babies are never stinky; their stinky smells good.
So there's a lot to be said
about how after all of that is done--
enjoying the sunshine and the smells outside--
that we can bathe them, and we can clean them up.
(narrator) Estella Gapas, a healthcare professional for over 36 years
and the director of a child care center for 15 years
notes that if given a choice
most children will choose to go outdoors.
I mean, in fact we do encourage them
to exercise outside and that's the reason
why we provide the tools for them.
In the playground they have big playground toys
like swings and climbers and stuff like that,
and we also have bicycles, tricycles,
little cars and basketball,
all sorts and sizes of balls.
We also have Hula Hoops
and trampoline and jumping ropes.
All those things can help children
with their gross motor development.
It's important that they sweat, okay?
Some cultures don't want their kids to sweat
and that's my, the culture that I come from.
But I understand the benefits of sweating and playing outdoors.
(narrator) Outdoor play is further supported by Rene Rañola
a registered physical therapist
with the Guam Public School System for the past 25 years.
He makes the following observations based on his work
with young children who have delays in their development.
When we encounter parents who are
kind of worried about sending their kids outside
for the fear of them getting dirty,
we just tell them that they have to be exposed
to different surroundings
and different environments and different terrain.
Going up and down hills which are only available outside,
on grassy areas, on the sand.
This allows them to develop higher skills.
And they are less prone to injuries
because they learn to adapt to the differences in surfaces
and even if they get hurt,
they kind of tend to heal faster because being exposed
to these different environments makes their muscles stronger,
their bones stronger and more flexible.
(narrator) Getting gross to develop our gross motor skills
is definitely not gross.
In fact, limiting our children's
outdoor physical activities can be unhealthy.
As a pediatrician, I am seeing more and more kids
growing sideways rather than upwards.
And the thing about this is,
play has changed from something that is more active
and more physical to something indoors requiring sitting,
watching, and exercising small muscles of the hands,
small muscles of the eyes, or if we're just watching TV
and is a wide screen, then, we grow as wide as our screen.
But I think they're getting the message
that being outside doesn't equate with being sicker
or getting dirty, that it doesn't mean
that you're going to get a lot of germs.
Again, if you do it properly and make sure
that they wash their hands well, but let them play outside.
When they do stay indoors, most of the time
they end up doing things, activities like watching TV,
being on the computer all the time,
and they get these couch potato problems.
Whereas, if they're allowed to go outside
you don't see them developing problems with the obesity
that there is a problem now.
I would limit their TV.
And when I say "TV," that includes computers and games
to at the most, an hour a day.
They need to be exercising, not only their minds
but their bodies to have a healthy environment.
(narrator) These sentiments are echoed by physical therapist Rañola.
One of the things that results from inactivity is obesity.
Children who are less active
tend to be more obese than the other kids who are more active,
and you don't want them to fall into that cycle of,
vicious cycle of inactivity, which leads to obesity,
which leads to more inactivity, which leads to more obesity.
You don't want that to happen,
and being involved in physical activities at an early age
kind of minimizes that risk.
For parents who have children with physical disabilities,
I've encountered some parents who have children
who are not able to, cannot sit up,
not able to crawl, at that age that they're supposed to.
And what I find out, some of the time is that these kids
are being prevented from being able to move about freely.
Either they're kept in the stroller for a long time,
or being carried most of the time, or being placed
in a walker most of the time instead of being placed
in an environment that would allow them freedom of movement.
Muscles are supposed to be moved and stretched,
to contract and to lengthen
and you only get that through movement,
through physical activities.
Especially with children who have physical disabilities
who are unable to move on their own.
If they're not subjected to movement
that will stretch their muscles out,
make them flexible, they tend to stay in those positions
and the muscles get tighter, they develop contractures,
you know, tightness of the muscles.
And most of the time they become
permanent contractures or permanent tightness.
And if they're not subjected
to the movement of extending and flexing,
then they develop those contractures and tightness.
So even children who are one year old or maybe even younger
who have physical disabilities
or a diagnosis of a physical disability,
they need to be moved, in order to prevent
the tightness or the contractures from setting in.
(narrator) Adults and parent play
an important role in children's development.
Through proper supervision and participation
parents and caregivers can ensure
that gross motor play is not gross.
I would use a good dose of common sense
in terms of allowing them to play,
which is, give them water for hydration,
use sunscreen to protect them from the sun,
allow them to play, wherein the mother or parent will be there,
to supervise and model the behavior that is expected.
I think today it's really easy to stay inside.
I think it's really easy to say, "Turn on the computer,
or we'll watch TV, or watch a video."
It's really easy for us to do that.
But I think if parents or teachers say,
"Come on, let's go outside and let's try,
"Let's go out there as a family,
or "We're going to have a picnic outside."
"We're going to fly some kites".
I think if we structure it,
I think people will be really amazed and find it
absolutely delightful at the types of interactions they can
have with their families or with their classes outside.
It just brings a whole different light
to what life is really all about.
(narrator) Young children need
opportunities with appropriate supervision
which encourage physical movement and play.
Physical activities help their gross motor development
and helps them establish good habits relating to fitness
that will serve them well into adulthood.
Gross motor development promotes improvement
in all areas of growth including language, adaptive,
social, emotional, and thinking skills.
So the bottom line is, GET OUT THERE AND GET GROSS!!
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CC-- Armour Captioning
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