Get kids moving this summer

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This article was published 25/06/2018 (2637 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

 

It’s a great time to keep your kids moving this summer.

 

Starting in July, The Wellness Institute (1075 Leila Ave.) is once again offering the Wellness Institute Summer Day Camp for children ages five to 12 years old. These camps have been developed by their lifestyle experts and combine physical activity with creative play.

Karin Whalen, The Wellness Institute’s director of community services, said there are several benefits to kids being involved in physical activity during the summer. 

“Make sure you’re thinking of things to keep them moving. It’s too easy now. You get Netflix on your phone. You get games on your phone, and it’s almost like the easy way is the sedentary way,” she said. “Kids can become complacent. It’s like everything is designed for convenience. If you look around, it’s too easy to become sedentary.

“Our overall vision and mandate is to be a leader in the overall health prevention and promotion field, and I think that by teaching and encouraging children at a young age to be mindful and to take heed of where they are at, I think that sets them up for success in life and self-care.”

The Wellness has many different camps for the younger and older group of kids. The Medical Masters camp is offered for kids eight to 12 years old and gives them the opportunity to learn about many areas within the health care system. They also partner with other community organizations. In the past, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service went there to show the kids their vehicles, and dentistry students taught about oral health.

“It’s just to keep kids active and have fun. It’s not school, although they are gleaning and learning information at camp, we want to make it fun for kids who come. It’s fairly structured but done in a fun way,” Whalen explained.

The younger kids, aged five to seven years old, can participate in the Mighty Mite camp and transformed themselves into their favourite superheroes and learn about superpowers. Superman might even attend the camp for a day. 

A new camp that was launched last year is The Chef’s Club for children eight to 12. There, kids learn about nutrition and cook healthy recipes that they can easily make at home for their parents and friends. 

“When they do their own cooking, and it’s hands-on, we find that even the fussiest eaters will try because they made it and they see everyone else making it,” Whalen said.

Registration for camps is open and can be done any time throughout the summer online or in person. Each camp runs from Monday to Friday and costs $160 for the five days and The Chef’s Camp has an additional charge of $35 for materials. The first camps start on July 3.

Wellness makes it convenient for parents by offering early drop off one hour before the camp starts and pick up to one hour after. If a parent needs to drop off their child earlier, they can book a spot with the Wellness’ Children Corner.

For more information, go to https://wellnessinstitute.ca/summer-day-camps/