Most young children in Taiwan need to engage in more physical activity to promote healthy development, a government-funded survey released yesterday said.
A research team focusing on early childhood development funded by the National Science and Technology Council released its latest survey at a news conference.
The team, led by professor Chang Chien-ju (張鑑如) of National Taiwan Normal University’s Department of Family and Child Science, has been conducting a long-term study on children aged three to eight, analyzing the development of their physical mobility and motor skills.
Photo: CNA
The WHO and the Ministry of Health and Welfare recognize that regular exercise promotes children’s growth, benefiting their muscular and skeletal systems and motor development, Chang said.
Insufficient physical activity could lead to delays in development, affecting motor skills, attention span and even cognitive development, she said.
The team tracked 1,175 children aged three to six and 2,365 children aged seven to eight.
It found that on average, boys were better than girls in terms of gross motor skills, while girls outperformed boys in fine motor skills, Chang said.
While children in the age group have physical education (PE) classes at elementary school, the classes amount to only 80 minutes per week, Chang said.
The survey found that 20 percent of children aged seven to eight do not exercise regularly, she said.
In addition, less than 20 percent of children met the standard seven hours of weekly exercise recommended by the WHO, compared with 42 percent in the US, she said.
Only about 30 percent of children participate in moderate to high-intensity exercise, such as swimming, basketball or running, compared with 63 percent in Japan, she added.
In addition to regular exercise, doing household chores could help children with their physical development, Chang said, adding that mopping the floor or taking out the trash could help with gross motor skills, while wiping the table or folding clothes could help with fine motor skills.
Frequently taking children to the park, visiting markets or doing puzzles could also help with their development, she added.
“If parents exercise, children usually follow suit,” Chang said.
Chang stressed the importance of gender-equal development and diverse learning environments.
Schools could increase the amount of time spent in PE classes and encourage students to participate in clubs and after-school activities, she said.
Chang advised the government to raise awareness of children’s physical development, and provide more training for teachers and parents.
The government could also introduce vouchers for family sporting activities, and expand urban parks and green spaces to promote children’s healthy development, she added.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party