Tag Archive for 'pediatri'

What can pediatricians do to reduce the distress experienced by children?

Published on October 19, 2023 in Allenatori, Calcio, Corsa, Generale, Giovani, Mental coaching, Olimpiadi, Stress, Tennis and Tiro a volo. 0 Comments Tags: famiglia, pediatri.

The potential role of pediatricians:

Engage in conversations with parents about their children’s opportunities for independent activities that contribute to building self-confidence.
Provide an overview of research findings as described in this report.
Explain concepts such as locus of control and basic psychological needs and inquire about their children’s independent activities, as well as the constraints and fears that limit these freedoms.
Collaborate with parents to find ways to overcome constraints and alleviate fears, taking into consideration the child’s age, neighborhood, and family living conditions.
Work together in residential areas to create situations where children can play freely with other children, with an adult present solely for safety, without managing the play.
Discuss with parents how to teach children to be safe in their independent activities, including how to cross streets, safety rules for bicycling, the benefits of moving with siblings or friends rather than alone (safety in numbers), and how to seek help when needed, as an alternative to depriving them of such activities.
Utilize their position and knowledge in discussions with educators, social workers, city planners, legislators, and community leaders regarding policies and programs that either limit or expand children’s opportunities for independent activities.

In the United States, the non-profit organization Let Grow has been effectively working for several years, achieving some success in introducing free play and other independent adventures into public schools, altering state laws to provide parents with more freedom to make informed judgments about their children’s safety, and providing a catalog for parents and teachers with methods and reasons to allow children greater independence.

(Sources: Gray P, Lancy DF, Bjorklund DF. Decline in Independent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children’s Mental Well-being: Summary of the Evidence. J Pediatr. 2023 Sep; 260:113352)

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Youth sport: problems and solutions

Published on April 28, 2017 in Allenatori, Calcio, Corsa, Generale, Giovani, Mental coaching, Stress, Tennis and Tiro a volo. 0 Comments Tags: allenamento., Christine M. Brooks, coaching, età, flow, LTAD, pediatri, USOC.

Youth sport is becoming a great problem and an article published in the magazine of US Olympic Committee helps to understand what might be the reasons and proposals for solutions. I wrote in a short summary but the article by Christine M. Brooks (Summer 2016) is certainly wider and interesting to read.

There is a high pediatric dropout rate from sports (between 2008 and 2013 there were 2.6 million fewer six to twelve year-old kids participating the six traditional sports).
Coaches are using higher training intensities at younger ages than ever before possibly causing long-term harm to young athletes (the LTAD model attempts to guide coaches about the appropriate training for children who are at different maturational phases).
There is an increase in childhood obesity and subsequent health problems (in the United States, 17 to 31 percent of children and adolescents are obese).

Goals

The principle of enjoyment embraces Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s notion of ‘FLOW,’ that in turn, explains why individuals enjoy an activity. Approximately 40 percent of pediatric athletes in one survey claim they dropped out of sports because they were not having fun. The coaching goal is to train athletes in small, manageable learning steps so they remain in the zone of FLOW. Research indicates that educated coaches lower kids’ anxiety levels and lift their self-esteem.
The principle of striving for improvement involves enticing young athletes to constantly strive for the upper limits of their genetic potential while concurrently keeping them in FLOW. If they are out of ‘FLOW,’ it is theoretically impossible to motivate ongoing practice and striving, and therefore progress toward full genetic potential will be blunted.
The principle of appropriate training goes hand-in-hand with the child’s growth and maturation. The LTAD model attempts to match structural growth and maturation to the appropriate motor skill complexity and intensity of physical training.
The principle of doing no harm is at the basis of coaching. Four million school-age children in the US are injured while playing sports every year. The reason can partly be attributed to stressing a body that has immature balance and coordination beyond its capacity.

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The pyramid of the physical activity

Published on November 15, 2012 in Generale and Libri. 0 Comments Tags: attività fisica, giovani, pediatri.

Game 7 days out of 7, biking and swimming up to 5 times a week, dance and soccer 2 or 3. Staring the perfect ’doses’ for any sport is the Pyramid of physical activity presented at the conference ‘Milanopediatria’, going from today until Sunday in Milan. Along the lines of well-known food pyramid, the pediatriciens have decided to establish the pattern for the exercise. Which to choose? When to practice it? And for how long? The new pyramid, organized in 4 steps, try to answers to these questions. Helping parents to navigate and promote good rules for their children. “The suggestions outlined have been proven effective, for the benefit of health status – ensures Marcello Giovannini, president of ’Milanopediatria’ -. It has been seen that to walk forone hour involves an expenditure of energy nearly 3 times higher than that obtained through the same time watching TV, with a significant increase in the ratio of fat oxidation and carbohydrate oxidation. ” The base of the pyramid, therefore, is to perform physical activity every day. It means to “walk the dog, take the stairs, helping her mother with housework, play with friends” say the pediatricians. In short, to move without any particular limit. “Not programmed exercise , in fact, it would seem that not only allows an increase in spending energy, but it could encourage a more active lifestyle. Temptation of sedentary activities (TV, video games) and to eat more are much stronger indoors than outdoors. ” The second step of the Pyramid of the sport shows instead the exercises to be performed 3/5 times a week, and that are “aerobic exercises like cycling, fast walking, running, skating, swimming,” for the desired time. “They are the most suitable exercises – state pediatricians – because they induce an increased oxidation of lipids. Specifically, cycling and swimming are recommended especially if the mass weight is high and injuries are predictable favorites by the exercise.” Climbing the Pyramid, the third step is devoted to physical activity programmed to perform 2/3 times a week, 50 minutes each time. In this case, most suitable sports are martial arts, dance, an hour of tennis or soccer or volleyball. When choosing the type of exercise is best to practice group activities – suggest doctors – possibly with peers with the same weight problems, because children and especially obese adolescents feel less inhibited in making these group activities. The approach to sports should also be calibrated to the real possibilities of the child and implemented in a progressive manner ” . Finally, the top of the pyramid that represents the space to devote to television and video games: very little. The invitation of pediatricians is “trying to sit less than an hour.”

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