7 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,D ecem ber 26,2019 insidehalton.com BoxingWeek Sale Friday, December 27 - Sunday January 5 50%offoffoffoffoffoff All Christmas Items 25%offoffoffoffoff Entire Store 2359 LAKESHORE ROAD WEST (In Bronte Village) www.mybackshed.com • 905.847.2922 220 Randall Street, Downtown Oakville 905-842-2100 www.watsoninvestments.comwww.watsoninvestments.com Wishing everyone Health &Happiness this Holiday Season. Merry Christmas &Happy New Year. .watsoninvestments.com ply isn't enough anymore, to the point where his fit- ness studio has added a program that teaches peo- ple to make meals again and eat properly. "The old adage that you can't out-exercise a bad di- et is truer than ever," he said. On the exercise front, the kindergarten parent survey indicates that only 39 per cent of Halton children meet the recommended amount of 60 minutes of physical ac- tivity per day. However, 94 per cent of kindergarten parents say that their kids attended recreational pro- grams in the past 12 months. It appears that a lack of programming isn't the is- sue - but rather a deficit in outdoor, unstructured playtime where children have the opportunity to take risks, surmises a re- cent report from Halton commissioner of social and community services Alex Sarchuk. "Play involving uncer- tainty and risk is associat- ed with increases in vigor- ous physical activity and improved motor skill," he wrote. "However, kinder- garten parent survey re- sults suggest Halton par- ents and caregivers are re- luctant to permit children to take risks in their phys- ical play. For example, on- ly half of parents believe children should engage in 'rough and tumble' play by age four." But letting children out- side for this type of play isn't as simple as it sounds. Just ask any parent living in today's hypervigilant so- ciety where mothers and fathers are scrutinized more than ever, like Lisa Kearns, a mother of two and city councillor in Bur- lington. "There's no way I'm let- ting my six-year-old out on the street, because it's actu- ally shamed," she said. "We need to reset those social expectations because I tell my kid that the 'mom po- lice' will come and get me if I let you run down the road." Kearns said she would love to see society revert back to an 1980s-style ap- proach to parenting, when letting children play freely outside was encouraged and neighbouring families supported each other. "It continues to take a village to raise a child," she said. "We need that village approach again." Indeed, it would appear that parents are feeling dis- connected from other fami- lies in their area, with only 23 per cent reporting high levels of neighbourhood cohesion in the kindergar- ten parent survey, down from 28 per cent in 2012. Sarchuk said that even lower levels of connected- ness were reported among families with low incomes. So what can be done? To start, Kearns sug- gested an increased focus on things like neighbour- hood parties to break down barriers, along with the use of Halton Region's so- cial media platforms to promote a 'new norm' that makes it acceptable for children to go outside on their own and play. Meghani said the health department is taking a multifaceted approach to address childhood obesity, starting with working alongside doctors and hos- pitals on improving exclu- sive breastfeeding rates. Halton health officials also target neighbour- hoods where vulnerabili- ties have been identified to support community programs, child care cen- tres, etc. with messaging that stresses the impor- tance of healthy eating and physical activity for children. For further details on Halton's health initiatives, visit halton.ca/For-Resi- dents/Public-Health. ANALYSIS Continued from page 5 KIDS PLAYING IN NEIGHBOURHOOD WAS ONCE ENCOURAGED QUESTION: WHY IS THE CHILDHOOD OBESITY RATE ON THE RISE IN HALTON? CONCLUSION: ACCORDING TO LOCAL EXPERTS, THE CRUX OF THE MATTER IS A LACK OF OUTDOOR, UNSTRUCTURED PLAYTIME PAIRED WITH UNHEALTHY EATING HABITS. STORY BEHIND THE STORY We examined the results of the recent Halton kindergarten parent survey and dug into the timely and concerning issue of childhood obesity. childhood obesity.