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Children need to exercise and play more sports in public spaces

Children need to exercise and play more sports in public spaces

The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) is looking for (physical) solutions/concepts to make exercising and playing sports in public spaces even easier, more enjoyable and better. Specifically for the youngest among us. The average number of hours a child spends playing has fallen dramatically over the past 30 years, from 15,000 to 1,700 hours in 2015. That is not good news, because childhood obesity is increasing and motor skills are declining. Initiatives can be submitted until 27 May at 17:00.

Young people navigate between social norms and sexual desires

Young people navigate between social norms and sexual desires

How young people deal with sexuality and the choices they make is strongly influenced by the social environment in which they live and the norms that apply to girls and boys. The emphasis placed by society on individual responsibility means that the influence of social norms and power differences becomes invisible. As a result, problems such as an unplanned pregnancy or sexual violence often lead to self-blame and feelings of guilt. This is shown by the doctoral research of Marianne Cense, affiliated with Rutgers, the knowledge centre for sexuality, based on 174 in-depth interviews with (migrant) young people. She obtained her PhD on 15 May 2019 at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Physical activity in childcare: lack of clarity about provision and effectiveness

Physical activity in childcare: lack of clarity about provision and effectiveness

There is still considerable uncertainty about the provision of physical activity opportunities in childcare and the extent to which these activities are aimed at developing movement skills. The absence of clear guidelines on the desired physical activity provision in the childcare quality requirements means that this is often not included in childcare policies and that childcare professionals do not address it structurally.

Movement guidelines for ages 0–4: what do guidelines from other countries say?

Movement guidelines for ages 0–4: what do guidelines from other countries say?

Sufficient and varied playful movement is important for the development of young children. We do not yet know exactly how much: the current Dutch movement guidelines do not provide advice for children under the age of four. There are countries that do have movement guidelines for this youngest target group. In this article by Femke van Brussel-Visser of the Knowledge Centre for Sport, you can read what these guidelines recommend regarding sitting, screen time, physical activity and sleep, and how you can encourage these.