The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an alarming lack of physical activity worldwide. In a report on this phenomenon, pediatrician Kerstin Holze warns that the lack of movement endangers the healthy physical and mental development of children. Lockdowns, school closures, and homeschooling during the pandemic have resulted in children not getting enough exercise. This fact can have fatal consequences for this generation, warn medical professionals and organizations.
According to the chairwoman of the German Foundation for Children’s Gymnastics, “the age for learning motor skills cannot be postponed.” Due to concerns that many children are not getting enough exercise, sports programs are one of the most important tools to achieve the goal of increased physical activity. Pediatrician Kerstin Holze emphasizes that complex motor skills must be learned at a young age for cognitive abilities to function properly. She makes it clear that organized sports play an important role in this task. While children have been deprived of the movement they need for healthy development for good reasons, urgent action must now be taken. “The deficits will not simply disappear,” says Holze. “It will not resolve itself.”
Even before COVID-19, the conditions for an active upbringing were not optimal, and the pandemic has only made it worse. “If we do not immediately return to where we were before, many children will not be able to catch up,” warns Holze. However, if the necessary attention is given to this issue now, we can still achieve it through a joint effort. “Childhood is happening now,” emphasized Holze. “This is not something we can simply make up for at the end of the pandemic. It is our duty to create the conditions for an active upbringing.” Holze appeals to parents, daycare centers, and schools to pay more attention to ensuring that children move a lot and develop all the important motor skills. She warns again that the damage caused by a lack of movement cannot simply be repaired later.
