Children growing weaker as computers replace outdoor activity

As a generation dedicated to online pursuits grows up, 10-year-olds can do fewer sit-ups and are less able to hang from wall bars in a gym. Arm strength has declined in that age group, as has their ability to grip an object firmly.The findings, published in the child health journal Acta Paediatrica, have led to fresh concern about the impact on children's health caused by the shift away from outdoor activities. Academics led by Dr Gavin Sandercock, a children's fitness expert at Essex University, studied how strong a group of 315 Essex 10-year-olds in 2008 were compared with 309 children the same age in 1998. They found that:The number of sit-ups 10-year-olds can do declined by 27.1% between 1998 and 2008 Arm strength fell by 26% and grip strength by 7%While one in 20 children in 1998 could not hold their own weight when hanging from wall bars, one in 10 could not do so in 2008.This is probably due to changes in activity patterns among English 10-year-olds, such as taking part in fewer activities like rope-climbing in PE and tree-climbing for fun," Sandercock said. Typically, these activities boosted children's strength, making them able to lift and hold their own bodyweight.Previous research has already shown that children are becoming more unfit, less active and more sedentary and, in many cases, heavier than before."Climbing trees and ropes used to be standard practice for children, but school authorities and 'health and safety' have contrived to knock the sap out of our children," said Tam Fry of the Child Growth Foundation. In my opinion, the increase of technology with computers, ipads etc have diverged the attention of kids from outside activities that before were very common in that age group. Nowadays, kids are more interested in playing their videos games, or using their Ipad to download and play apps than actually going outside and running around. I can account for that because I myself have a little cousin that is obsessed with watching Dinosaur videos on youtube and that's what she pretty much spends the whole day doing when she is not in school. But how can you blame her? Children are preety much born into this world surrounded by all these forms of technology and computers is just a start. Next thing you know they will be texting and instagramming their pictures. I think that it is a good idea that nowadays Ipads and Kindles now contain a part of the settings where one can control the amount of time our children play games or watch videos because it is easier for children's to concentrate and go do other children activities than sit all day with a computer in front of their face. Even the Wii is also a big concern as well because the constant playing of videos games impact children's concentration level and demeanor in front of others. Honestly what more is there to do than try to restrict them a little bit not completely and teach them that technology is not everything in life just a portion of it.