Human Development
Children need to develop a knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the growth and development of their own bodies. Children are curious about physical qualities, growth patterns, heredity, body functions, and their own sexuality.
Children need to understand how their bodies develop and how to take care of the bodies. That is developmentally and age appropriate. PTA can help with physical fitness activities, maturation programs, and promoting health lifestyles. Making sure our children are getting enough physical activity is important as well and helping out with recess or after school sports is another option. In older grade levels PTA’s could also assist with activities that will help with creating boundaries, how to say “NO”, and coping skills when a child is being bullied.
Research supports the fact that people who exercise regularly feel better, have more energy, reduce stress, lose weight, improve muscular strength and flexibility, and have better thinking processes. Sustained exercise improves the efficiency of the heart and lowers the risk of heart disease. Physical education programs should promote lifetime habits of vigorous exercise. Both National PTA and Utah PTA have taken positions supporting daily physical exercise.
Utah PTA recognizes that parents are the primary sex educators of their children with schools acting as supporters in communicating this information. These roles, however, are not effective if parents do not take the initial responsibility. Utah PTA encourages parents to provide the basic foundation of information through open communication using resources from libraries and school curriculum.
Resources:
Saprea (formerly Defend Innocence)
Utah PTA Views Physical and Mental Health as Key to Student Success
Ideas:
- Help with Maturation Programs. Search out your own district policy on maturation programs and who is responsible for organizing them. If the program policies elicit controversy, suggest the formation of a standing broad-based committee to determine curriculum content and preview classroom materials. Be certain the curriculum content follows state law and school policy.
- Work with health teachers to encourage secondary school curriculum that includes responsible parenthood.
- Support school policies and philosophies that promote quality family living, including premarital abstinence and fidelity after marriage. Help students know the consequences of premarital sexual involvement.
- Sponsor events to help students know their rights and how to say no to any type of abuse.
- Plan walkathons, physical activity events, after school sports
- Encourage your district to hire trained P.E. specialists where possible, or to use team teaching approaches to offer quality P.E. instruction. If necessary, organize trained volunteers.
- Encourage twenty to thirty minutes of physical activity during the school day.
- Encourage your school and district to develop a policy that prohibits restricting recess or lunchtime as a punitive measure.
- Help your school sponsor a sporting or fitness event such as a 5K run or organize and promote a bike or walk to school event.