December 20, 2016
Physical activity in elementary children (7-10) improves brain size, brain functioning, thinking ability, and school achievement, according to this literature review.
Chaddock-Heyman, L., Hillman, C. H., Cohen, N. J., Kramer, A. F., (2014) The Importance of Physical Activity and Aerobic Fitness for Cognitive Control and Memory in Children, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Dec;79(4), 25-50.
“Specifically, physical activity and higher levels of aerobic fitness in children have been found to benefit brain structure, brain function, cognition, and school achievement. For example, higher fit children have larger brain volumes in the [brain regions of the] basal ganglia and hippocampus, which relate to superior performance on tasks of cognitive control and memory, respectively, when compared to their lower fit peers. Higher fit children also show superior brain function during tasks of cognitive control, better scores on tests of academic achievement, and higher performance on a real-world street crossing task, compared to lower fit andless active children.”
From our point of view, Sports, Nature, Arts, Culture, Clubs, Music, Spirituality (SNACCMS) are key parenting skills that lawyers can promote. In high conflict situations, healthy oriented SNACCMS hold the promise of counteracting harmful parenting by a co-parent.