National Physical Education and Sport Week (May 1–7)


SHAPE America (Society of Health and Physical Educators) started National Physical Education and Sport Week, (always the first week in May), as a celebration of the importance of physical education and health education. This Society exists "to advance professional practice and promote research related to health and physical education, physical activity, dance and sport". Their vision is to see "a nation where all children are prepared to lead healthy, physically active lives".  https://www.shapeamerica.org/about/default.aspx

What does the physical education look like in your children's school? 

How do you get your kids engaged physical fitness?

Did you know that mental health is related to physical fitness?

Over the last few decades we know that funding for physical education in public schools has dramatically declined. Luckily community sports programs have filled in the gap. These however are run by us ~ parents who love sports and want to share them with our kids. Which creates a separate set of complications beyond the scope of this blog ;) Suffice it to say that we now need to play a bigger role in helping our children be active and maintain a habit of it. 

It's pretty easy to get your kids involved in sports or physical activity/fitness when you are a person who is naturally a fitness/sports participant. As such a person, you are readily exposing your kids to new and different physical experiences and they will naturally find their passion. If you are not naturally inclined to exercise, participate in sports or fitness, I first encourage you to begin ~ WITH your kids :) ~ for your own mental and physical wellbeing. There are innumerable benefits to being physically active, not just for your heart, muscles, and bones but also for 

  • your mood ~ balances your mood, staves off depression, decreases stress, and improves coping skills
  • brain function ~ increases focus/attention, improves academic performance
  • you sleep and eat better
  • boosts self confidence and self efficacy! 

Looking for movement inspiration? Check out these activity calendars from SHAPE

Struggling with pain or injury preventing you from being active? Check out this Special Report ~ 5 Strategies to Get Your Child Off the Sideline and Back Playing After Injury


This year SHAPE is also celebrating 50 years of Title IX. I am very glad to have grown up with the opportunity to play school and community sports without sensing the stigma of "being a girl".  Not that it didn't exist, mind you, but I was definitely not faced with or aware of any restrictions that I felt limited me. 

Fifty years later we are facing another civil rights limitation that Title IX might address.  As a primer . . . Title IX prohibits sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity) discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The philosophical discussion of whether Title IX can be invoked to allow transgender students to participate in the sport based on how they identify (a transgender woman is allows to play her sport with the women's team #LiaThomas) is beyond the scope of this blog. Although many posts about title IX do, the language of Title IX itself does not seem to even consider gender identity,  . . . its language from 1972 only mentions sex not gender. So I will leave it like this . . . this is a critical issue that needs to be resolved immediately for the safety of our communities so that we can continue to participate in sports/fitness which is critical to our mental and physical health and wellness! In Fall 2021 the U.S. Department of Education proposed to amend Title IX to align with executive orders "Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation (EO 13988) and the Executive Order on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (EO 14021)"

Here are SHAPES Title IX Facts sheets:


I hope you find time to be active this week and every week for your mind, body and spirit! Be Well, Dr. Roxi

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ If you are injured or in pain and are struggling to get back to playing the sport you love, we are offering a Free Discovery Visit to find the root cause of your problem and help you fix it and get back to sports! 

Not ready to come in? Speak to a Specialist over the phone!  or call 424-244-0575

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