PE teacher Siim Tõnisson calls for more opportunities for children to move — ERR News
In Estonia, physical education teacher Siim Tõnisson said that children are more likely to remain physically active when they have sufficient opportunities to move at home, at school and in their free time. This was reported by ERR News.
According to the teacher, organized sports or other physical activity provide children with many benefits, including affecting their perception of the world around them and how quickly they absorb new information. At the same time, he stressed that a child does not necessarily need to attend a sports club if they move enough during the day at school, in extracurricular activities and with their family.
The child’s interest and parents’ example
Before enrolling a child in a club or sports section, parents should find out whether the child is genuinely interested in it, Tõnisson believes. He advises starting with the activities the child wants to try; these are often clubs already attended by their friends.
Adults’ habits can also influence children’s choices. For example, a child whose parents play tennis may be more likely to pick up a racket themselves. For younger children, the teacher said, it is more important not to explain the benefits of physical activity at length, but to move together with them.
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Schools can offer alternatives
Tõnisson named electric scooters and smartphones among the factors that create challenges for maintaining children’s activity, also mentioning scooter-related injuries. In his view, families and schools can offer children alternatives.
At the school where he works, students leave their phones in special lockers and can use the sports hall and equipment during breaks. The teacher also cited the example of Estonia’s Liikuma Kutsuv Kool program, which provides for longer outdoor breaks, opportunities for students to organize games, and active breaks during regular lessons.
According to Tõnisson, children themselves are not the problem: at school, he sees them eagerly playing football and basketball, doing parkour, climbing and jumping. Even a simple box measuring 90 by 60 centimeters interested the students — a line of 20 children formed to jump onto it.
