<p class="title">Children who engage in organised physical activity at a young age are less likely to have emotional difficulties by the time they turn 12, according to a study.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The elementary school years are a critical time in child development," said Frederic N Briere, a professor at Universite de Montreal in Canada.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"And every parent wants to raise a well-adjusted child," said Briere, who led the study published in the journal Pediatric Research.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Besides keeping children from being sedentary, physical activities such as structured sports have the potential to be enriching both physically and mentally, said Briere.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The study tested that intuitive logic with a large representative population of typically developing Canadian children.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We followed a birth cohort over time to examine whether consistent participation in organised sport from ages 6 to 10 would minimise risks associated with emotional distress, anxiety, shyness, social withdrawal at age 12," said Briere.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Our goal was to test this question as critically as possible by eliminating pre-existing child or family conditions that could offer an alternative explanation," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Briere and his team examined data from a cohort of children born in 1997 or 1998 who are part of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development.</p>.<p class="bodytext">From ages 6 to 10, mothers reported whether their child participated in organised physical activity.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At age 12, teachers reported on the child's levels of emotional distress, anxiety, shyness, and social withdrawal at school.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The results revealed that children who participated consistently from ages 6 to 10 showed fewer instances of those factors at age 12 than their counterparts who did not engage in physical activity in a consistent way," said Briere.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We found these benefits above and beyond pre-existing individual and family characteristics," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Getting kids actively involved in organised sport seems to promote global development. This involvement appears to be good on a socio-emotional level and not just because of physical benefits.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Being less emotionally distressed at the juncture between elementary and high school is a priceless benefit for children, as they are about to enter a much larger universe with bigger academic challenges," Briere said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This research supports current parental guidelines promoting children's involvement in physical activity," he said.</p>
<p class="title">Children who engage in organised physical activity at a young age are less likely to have emotional difficulties by the time they turn 12, according to a study.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The elementary school years are a critical time in child development," said Frederic N Briere, a professor at Universite de Montreal in Canada.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"And every parent wants to raise a well-adjusted child," said Briere, who led the study published in the journal Pediatric Research.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Besides keeping children from being sedentary, physical activities such as structured sports have the potential to be enriching both physically and mentally, said Briere.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The study tested that intuitive logic with a large representative population of typically developing Canadian children.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We followed a birth cohort over time to examine whether consistent participation in organised sport from ages 6 to 10 would minimise risks associated with emotional distress, anxiety, shyness, social withdrawal at age 12," said Briere.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Our goal was to test this question as critically as possible by eliminating pre-existing child or family conditions that could offer an alternative explanation," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Briere and his team examined data from a cohort of children born in 1997 or 1998 who are part of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development.</p>.<p class="bodytext">From ages 6 to 10, mothers reported whether their child participated in organised physical activity.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At age 12, teachers reported on the child's levels of emotional distress, anxiety, shyness, and social withdrawal at school.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The results revealed that children who participated consistently from ages 6 to 10 showed fewer instances of those factors at age 12 than their counterparts who did not engage in physical activity in a consistent way," said Briere.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We found these benefits above and beyond pre-existing individual and family characteristics," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Getting kids actively involved in organised sport seems to promote global development. This involvement appears to be good on a socio-emotional level and not just because of physical benefits.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Being less emotionally distressed at the juncture between elementary and high school is a priceless benefit for children, as they are about to enter a much larger universe with bigger academic challenges," Briere said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This research supports current parental guidelines promoting children's involvement in physical activity," he said.</p>