Kids at play

As parents of small children, you may be wondering how to plan their activities. How much time should they spend engaging in free play versus watching TV? And are organized sports and music or dance classes beneficial to children under age 6?

Local experts offer some information and advice that may help you determine what is best for your children.

Free play vs. watching TV

"In my opinion, children - particularly small children - should spend no more than one hour per day watching TV," said Kathy Watson, professor of family studies and chair of the Division of Human Services at Arizona Western College. Watching TV is passive, the content can be scary and confusing to children, and many cartoon characters are unhealthy role models, she said.

Instead, parents should encourage children to play, read, think, physically manipulate toys and play with other children, she said. Parents can set up a safe environment with manipulatives such as blocks, and imaginatives such as costumes and jewelry, then "just get out of the way," she said.

Children are "curious little beings" who need the opportunity to discover on their own, rather than to have their time programmed by parents, she said. "They need to learn how to get back up when they fall down, or what happens when they push that tower of blocks." However, parents should supervise children to keep them safe, she said.

Organized sports

At certain times of the year, the city of Yuma Parks and Recreation Department offers soccer for children age 4 and up, tee-ball for girls age 5 and up, and tennis for children age 6 and up, said Debbie Wendt, recreation superintendent. A year-round competitive swim program is also available for children age 4 and up.

When playing organized sports, children learn the importance of physical fitness, Wendt said. "It helps them make friends and learn to compete with ***image4:right***each other as a team, it's good for eye-hand coordination, and it's a great social activity for children."

Watson agrees that organized sports are good for children's physical fitness, but in her opinion, they are not necessary for children under age 7 or 8. Very small children do not understand the rules they must follow when playing on sports teams, she said.

Instead, she suggests simple physical activities, such as running, rolling a ball, skipping, tumbling or playing chase. These types of large muscle activities are not only appropriate, but vital, she said.

For more information, call the city of Yuma Parks and Recreation at 373-5245 or log on to www.ci.yuma.az.us/parksandrec.

Music and movement classes

Music and movement classes are available for children from birth to age 5 at the Yuma Art Center.

One is Kindermusik by Sharon, a music readiness program based on the philosophy that parents are a child's first teacher. Parents participate with their children in the class. This type of bonding helps children feel more confident, safe and secure, which is necessary before learning can happen, said Sharon Hayes, Kindermusik director.

Participants listen to music, sing, rhyme, dance with scarves and more. "Music is a powerful tool that stimulates development in every area of the brain," and it helps children's cognitive, social, emotional and physical development, she said.

The Music Class is also offered at the art center. It's a fast-paced, 40-minute, multilevel class with 13 activities that all emphasize music in a child-friendly way, said Maxine D'Haiti, director. Activities include using puppets to act out a song, making play-dough music notes and playing various instruments in a "rhythm band."

Older children practice responding to different rhythm patterns while younger ones just keep a steady beat, she said. Later, parents visit over a cup of coffee, serve the children snacks and help them with music-related art projects. Meanwhile, D'Haiti gives brief pre-piano lessons to children individually.

"Music has the unique ability to boost children's ability to learn," she said. She also teaches private piano lessons.

While most children are ready at about age 7, she has taught some as young as 4, she said.

Kindermusik by Sharon can be reached at 1-928-782-9941, and The Music Class can be reached at 1-928-783-3383.

Dance lessons

Some local dance studios offer dance lessons for small children.

For example, Dawn's Dance Studio offers "Combo Classes," in which children age 2 through 6 or 7 learn the foundations of ballet, tap and jazz, said Dawn Atherton, owner.

Children start out with basic stretches for injury prevention and move into kicks and leaps turns, among other moves. Dancing is good for the development of large motor skills as well as balance and coordination, she said.

The Yuma Ballet Academy also has an early childhood dance program designed to introduce small children to to movement, music and rhythm. But the program does not focus on ballet instruction because a child's body is not ready for actual ballet until about age 6 or or 7, said Kathleen Sinclair, co-owner. "It's mostly to instill a joy of dancing in young children."

Dance lessons are also good for teaching children discipline, mastering memorization and building confidence, said Teresa Moedl, president of the Yuma Ballet Theatre (YBT) Guilde. YBT offers combination ballet and tap classes for children ages 3 through 6, and they have so much fun, they don't even realize they're learning, she said. They learn simple basic choreography, often moving from left to right, which helps later in school with left to right reading skills, she added.

Watson said it's good to expose small children to music and dance. She suggests playing music for them and taking them to see musical performances, such as "The Nutcracker." Then if a child expresses interest in dancing, you might try lessons to see how it works out, she said. But "sometimes we tend to push children too early," she said.

The number for Yuma Ballet Academy is 1-928-314-4762, Dawn's Dance Studio is 329-6858, the Yuma Ballet Theatre is 1-928-341-1925. Other dance studios are listed in the Yellow Pages.

A parent's perspective

Four-year-old Sierra Ringwald does arts and crafts at Michael's on Monday, attends The Music Class on Tuesday, attends Bible study on Wednesday, takes ballet lessons on Thursday and rides horses at Saddles of Joy on Friday. She also attends preschool three days a week.

"I want her to socialize and find her talent," said her mother, Rose Ringwald, explaining why she involves Sierra in various activities.

And Sierra was born with one arm not fully developed due to a condition called amniotic band syndrome, so exposing her to groups of other children also gives them and Sierra the opportunity to learn to accept one another for who they are, Ringwald said. The result is a happy, confident child who loves to sing and dance, she said.

But with all those planned activities, are there ever times when Sierra does not want to go?

"Never." Ringwald said, smiling. "She loves it."

Helpful web site

Watson recommends visiting the National Institute on Media and the Family Web site at www.mediafamily.org for information on how media content affects children. The site features "Kidscore," a rating system that rates media content in terms of age appropriateness, violence and more.

Nancy Gilkey can be reached at ngilkey@yumasun.com or 539-6851.