303 Tween-Approved Exercises and Active Games

This book is not just for classrooms or families with overweight or unhealthy kids--every family that has children with televisions, computers, and/or video games under one roof should take care to exercise regularly. Tweens spend as much time sitting down watching TV, playing video games, or using computers as they spend in school each week. According to statistics from the U.S. Health and Human Resources Department, one third of American children are overweight or obese due to our lifestyle choices. The number one concern that parents bring up to pediatricians is keeping kids fit, and half of all children are not physically active enough for the development of a healthy cardiovascular system. In this age of electronic media, where we become watchers instead of doers, we are simply forgetting the many wonderful ways of playing and exercising together.

Tweens in particular are susceptible to overweight issues; the drop-out rate of structured sports programs is highest at this age group.303 Tween-Approved Exercises and Active Games is written specifically for kids ages 9-12 years old. Kimberley Wechsler, a specialist in Kid's Fitness, took into account the fundamental attributes of being a child while developing these exercises. Children have specific physiologic differences that make them unique. They grow, mature, and develop skills at different ages, so what may be skill appropriate for one child could be harmful for another child. These exercises reflect the emotional, social, physical level of this age group.

Children of this age group are now at the skill level in which physical challenges like mind, body, meditation, balance, muscle strengthening, and sport performance building exercises become very important. Sports skills and drills can now be developed, and competition is highlighted and welcomed within this age group. Kids at this age like to show off their talents so it is important for teachers and parents to observe and provide positive feedback on all of their accomplishments. At this age, tweens want to belong to a sport, group, or identify with a sport celebrity to begin to define who they are and what their likes are; friends also tend to become more of an influence than parents at this age. Bad behavior patterns and peer pressure have now developed--making it more difficult to change current patterns--but it can be done. 303 Tween-Approved Exercises and Active Games can help tweens build confidence in high-pressure situations and build their social skills through playing team sports.

Kids within this age group are now experienced with the basic fundamentals of fitness and prefer games, sports, and exercises that are more challenging and competitive. They are physically, intellectually, emotionally becoming young adults. They can think abstractly, make decisions, understand rules and challenge rules; they are more mature then kids 6-8 years old, and their games and physical challenges must reflect these characteristics. They have formed a sense of self-identity and they are more independent, yet their friends are very important to them. Many of the exercises are written to include their friends--they can challenge their friends or work as a team with their friends.

Tweens have a preferred Fitness Personality--a style of fitness that suits their likes. Therefore, they can choose their style of exercises from 303 physical challenges. They can choose to do them independently, with a friend, or with a group of friends. They can choose from many styles of fitness in 303 Tween-Approved Exercises and Active Games: mind/body, military style fitness, sports performance, functional resistance, strength training, plyometric style, outdoor challenges, circuit/interval/obstacle course training. 303 Tween-Approved Exercises and Active Games allows tweens to choose the type of exercise. By giving each challenge/game a point value, tweens can freely choose their