Keeping Our Daughters Active

I guess that this isn’t really an article on mental health, but I thought that it deserved a few comments. Having been anorexic as a teen, I think that there is something to be said about the role of physical activity.

To sum up the article: Physical activity has health and psychological benefits, so it’s important for your daughters to stay active.

Hmm… being signed up for group sports. While this is probably fine when they’re little, I know a lot of kids who were always MADE to participate in a group sport — whether or not they wanted to. Not everyone enjoys the team atmosphere. Also, not all teams / sports are particularly friendly and inviting. At my high school, you had better be damn good at whatever you sign up for — otherwise you’re just going to embarrass yourself. I’m all for encouraging your children to be a part of a group sport… but not excited about being made to participate.

But there’s a downside. Although girls’ participation in organized sports is on the rise, the number of girls staying physically active outside this arena is declining, especially after they become teenagers. According to the report, adolescent girls are only half as likely as teen boys to be physically active. That’s a big problem. Not only are they forgoing the positive benefits that exercise has for their bodies — better heart health, lower incidence of Type 2 diabetes and prevention of osteoporosis — but they are also missing out on the psychological pluses: compared with their more active counterparts, physically inactive girls rank lower in self-esteem, social skills and the ability to make friends and to handle conflicts.

I don’t think that there are many arenas outside of organized sports for teen girls to participate in. You can take up running or horseback riding or ice skating (non-organized sports), but they’re all still sports. Just thinking about my current friends, I don’t know anyone who is part of a team sport. They’re not inactive people — they just belong to a gym. I can’t recall ever seeing teenagers at my gym. Maybe I live in a non teenage girl-friendly area, but I just don’t think it’s common for teenagers to belong to a gym. My point with this rambling is that sports seem like the only choice as a teenager.

Also at fault is what LaVoi refers to as “the professionalization of youth sports” — parents treating kids like mini-pros by pushing them to engage in highly competitive sports leagues. “You could argue that kids just don’t know how to participate in unstructured play because there is so much focus on organized activities these days,” she says.

Parents can also help find activities that are fun for girls, which may not always mean organized competitive sports. Rebekah Granquist, director of program development at the YMCA of San Diego County, the second largest YMCA in the country, says, “Although many girls gravitate toward soccer, volleyball and cheering, more and more girls are signing up for our noncompetitive activities like dance and mind-body programs like yoga.” Fit daughters who say om — that’ll soothe any mom.

Okay, glad to see that they agree

To touch on any mental health aspect of this article that could possibly exist… I think it’s hard to make the conclusion that “Physically inactive girls rank lower in self-esteem, social skills and the ability to make friends and handle conflicts.” I would argue that girls (or boys) who are depressed, not interested in many social situations, and not necessarily outgoing, are less likely to participate in sports. I don’t think you can blame physical inactivity on all of the above.

Also interesting — as our culture becomes increasingly weight-obsessed, many children are becoming less active. I’m sure some of this is attributed to the shift in motivation to exercise. Girls aren’t necessarily joining a sport because it’s fun, but because it’s exercise. Oh, and the helicopter parents who push their kids to excel at everything aren’t making life easier for anyone. I don’t know at what age you had to start playing tennis in my area, but if you weren’t amazing, you weren’t going to be on the high school team (JV even). Many school organized sports have just become competitive — not places to learn a new game or healthier lifestyle.

Related to that thought — with this societal ideal of athletes: thin, powerful, skilled, etc. — I think that it’s intimidating to try a sport. I think that the whole “athlete” thing is intimidating. It’s not that kids just want to sit around all afternoon in front of the television… it’s just that being part of a team sport takes a lot of time, dedication, and hard work. And with all the homework and pressure to get into a good college, that just doesn’t sound appealing.

Tags: eating disorder, females athletes, girl sports, sports and depression, sports and mental health, team sports, teen depression