Beach Cities Health District, in partnership with our Student Mental Health Provider Task Force, hosts the virtual “Talk About It” Small-Group Parent Workshop Series. This series supports families at home as they navigate distance learning and help create balance for students and parents. Dr. Bianca Edison of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Sports Medicine facilitated this workshop on May 14.

Top 5 Tips for Facilitating Family Connection Through Physical Activity:

1. Try to prioritize physical activity as a family – encourage your family to join you on a brisk walk, even if it’s for 20 minutes or if you need to break up your activity over the course of the day. Research shows participation in physical activity is linked with higher educational outcomes and improved mental well-being.                              
2. Use a variety of online resources – many organizations, including the NBA and Nike, have created virtual physical activities for children (as well as parents/caregivers) to stay active while safer at home. Check out our AdventurePlex Fun Home Fitness Challenge!
3. Maintain team connections – try to facilitate virtual meetings of sports teams, teammates and coaches to continue the comradery and support established during the regular season.
4. Enjoy the break – This time off from organized sports can relieve some of the pressure children feel to perform. Children can use this time to play their sport on their own terms, without the pressure of competition and embrace the fun of the sport.
5. Embrace unstructured time – Unstructured free play can lead to increased physical literacy skills as well as empower your child to creatively engage actively with their environment. This can also reinforce basic skills (gross and fine motor skills, fundamentals, etc.) they can use later in organized group sports and in life.

For more information, visit bchd.org/talk.