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Oct 6, 2008 10:52 pm US/Central
Good Question: Why Do Kids Have So Much Energy?
(WCCO)
Between work and family most of us are simply exhausted at the end of our day. That's not usually the case for children. They always seem to be on-the-go. So why do kids have so much energy?
"It is part of the learning process," said pediatrician Dr. Carolyn McKay of Fairview Children's Clinic. "They're learning. Life is to be experienced. As soon as you can get your hands together you grab, grab to your mouth, then you flip over."
McKay has worked around children for 40 years. She said there isn't anything internally that happens to give children more energy.
In fact she said, "Little kids aren't terribly civilized. So if they're awake they're often in motion."
By exploring, children put themselves in danger, which is part of learning how their bodies react.
"They have an urge to learn and you learn by tasting, trying, touching manipulating," she said. "What will my body do? What will happen to this if I do this?"
"It's unbelievable. It never stops," said Jason Ewing, father of two. "It's the cycle of life, right? The joke gets played out on us that we played on our parents. It all comes full circle."
Ewing said he thinks part of the reason children have so much energy is because, "No stress. They just have to eat, and they crawl around and do whatever. They have no stress in their life."
Mother Tracy Fullington agreed.
"It's nice to be a kid just because you don't have any responsibilities," she said.
"Plus they get a nap," said Jody Baker, a father of three. "They get to lie down for an hour-and-a-half, two hours a day. We should try taking a nap."
McKay thinks parents can learn something from this because the learning curve does drop off.
"Learning is fun when you're a kid and it usually goes on until your teenage years, hopefully, or young adulthood," she said.
"In most societies, if you go back 200 years, they'd be shooting guns, they'd be going hiking, looking for deer and squirrels and whatever else they needed to eat. They'd be learning farming methods," she said. "Kids become less active once they hit junior high. They get interested in video games and computers."
McKay said parents need to realize this is a limited cycle, so they need to foster their children's love of learning.
"Part of our job (as a parent is) to give them outlets for that energy. Better they go canoeing up the Hudson Bay, than they go driving with friends who are drunk," she said.
A lot of parents think boys are much more energetic than girls. McKay said some of that is our genetic makeup; some of it is how we socialize our children. We want boys to be tough and athletic, but we teach girls to be softer and more verbal.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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