Getting city kids moving

Amanda: This is The Forefront, a podcast that explores ideas for cities. I’m Amanda Cupido. 

So here’s the problem: when the pandemic began in March of 2020, many of us were suddenly trapped in our homes. With activities stalled, gym closures, and constantly being told to STAY AT HOME, many of us found ourselves completely sedentary.

As an adult I was struggling, but what about the kids who abruptly lost their recess, phys ed classes, and any extra curricular sports they may have been enrolled in? It's recommended that kids spend at least one hour per day doing moderate to vigorous physical activity (like running or biking), along with additional time spent doing lighter activities. This is according to ParticipACTION --- a non profit organization dedicated to promoting healthy living. They also just did a study and found that only 3% of Canadian children met this guideline during the pandemic.

Melissa: We'd also try and get outside at least once or twice a day. In the neighborhood, we're close to the waterfront, so we can go for walks down there. 

Amanda: That’s Melissa Wong. She works in the office of the Dean of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Arts, but she’s also a mom of two. 

Melissa: And then there's a park across the street, which at the beginning of the pandemic didn't have a playground, but does now have a playground. So there was, there's some open space there. And, then there's other playgrounds around so we would usually try to get out to a playground at least a few times a week, to stay active and get exercise and get fresh air.

Amanda: She lives (and now works) in a condo in downtown Toronto with her husband and daughters, age 3 and 6. While some of her friends live in houses with backyards for their kids to play in, Melissa had to be a little more hands-on when the pandemic began. 

Melissa: Many condo buildings have recreational facilities available. So there's a gym, in our building, there's a swimming pool in our building, there's also a children's play area in our building. But when the pandemic hit, all of that was no longer available. Those ways that we could get exercise we're kind of taken away and so our only alternative is to go outside.

Amanda: This was particularly tricky because Melissa’s kids are so little. While older kids might be able to go out and explore on their own, Melissa’s daughters aren’t ready for that just yet.

Melissa: Activities need to be planned out when you live in a high rise building because they require an adult to go with them. So if we want to go to the park or play outside, it requires that one or both parents have to go with the children. And so things have to be a bit more structured and it does limit things. We can't just say, hey, head outside if the kids are getting a little anxious or need to burn off some energy. 

Amanda: But, don’t forget: Melissa and her husband are also working during all of this. 

Melissa: It was definitely a challenge. And as a working mom and living in a small space, trying to manage children while you're also in video calls for a fair amount of the day was definitely difficult. And even since then, also with the remote school, you know, managing that throughout the year was a real challenge. It's a lot of interruptions, a lot of unfocused time during the work day and then a lot of interruptions. And then I kind of have to every day, do the second shift because I can't get a full work day in. And so pretty much since the pandemic, I’ve done a second shift to work in the evening after the children go to bed. Which is pretty tiring overall. I mean, as a parent can be pretty tiring anyways, but it doesn't leave you a lot of time for rest and to be able to recharge or or, you know, just attend to other things in the house sometimes. 

Amanda: Listen -- I'm not a parent so I'm not even going to pretend to understand this level of exhaustion. But I do know that Melissa is not alone. 

TRANSITION MUSIC

Amanda: Turns out, a lot of parents—and especially parents living in urban, downtown environments—struggle to keep their kids active throughout the pandemic. 

Raktim: If we think about it intuitively, we would assume that children and youth who live in apartment buildings or live in neighborhoods that are densely populated, or are very close to major streets -- probably children and youth living in those neighborhoods would be less active. 

Amanda: This is Dr. Raktim Mitra. He’s an associate professor in Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning. He's also one of the scholars who has collaborated with ParticipACTION to study the effect of the pandemic on kids’ daily activities in Canada. 

Raktim: Our analysis confirmed those assumptions, we found that children living in their apartments were significantly less likely to show patterns of activities that could be considered active. We noticed that children living in neighborhoods with high dwelling density were less active compared to children living in low density neighborhoods.

But what we also found is that in the high density neighborhoods, in the situations and contexts where children had access to parks and open spaces, their likelihood of being active during the pandemic actually went up, compared to high density neighborhoods that did not have access to open spaces and parks.

Amanda: Dr. Mitra says this study could have major implications on urban planning down the line. From an urbanist perspective, dense communities are healthy communities, with ease of access to everything you might need in your day-to-day life. But the downside is these dense communities are at a much higher risk of viral outbreaks.

Raktim: Context like this, and studies, like the one that we were engaged in, it kind of provides more ammunitions for city planners to negotiate for better public spaces, and parks and sidewalks and things like that, because we now know that in the cases of health emergencies, these high density buildings are probably more vulnerable. But their vulnerability can be mitigated. I know that this past year has been difficult with lots of uncertainties and concerns around childrens’ health as well as health of the adults. But the benefits of being physically active, and being able to play outside are often underestimated -- Underestimated by parents, and sometimes by children.

Amanda: So what does Dr. Mitra recommend parents do?

Raktim: So my advice during the time of the pandemic, would be for parents to try to utilize whatever opportunities that they have and take their children to these outdoor spaces and create opportunities for them to be engaged in some form of physical activity, because in the longer term, these activities would have significant impact on their health and wellbeing.

Amanda: But let's go back to Melissa. Another thing she noticed is that her kids are more motivated to be active when around other kids similar in age...

Melissa: They often have games where they're chasing each other, they play something called octopus or other games that require a lot of running, and they get energy out. And when it's just the two of us outside, she doesn't always exert herself as much as she would. So she might, you know, go on the swing or something like that, or a little thing that spins around where she's not necessarily expending as much energy or getting the same kind of cardiovascular workout she would if she was playing with friends.

Amanda: And when they're getting that kind of cardiovascular workout, she says she notices her kids benefitting across the board.

Melissa: At least for my children, I can see the difference in her mental health, in her physical health, and in her sleep. Because I think they all interplay with each other, being able to get the outdoor time but it's also outdoor time with other children that makes a huge difference in her health.

Amanda: And this sentiment extends beyond just her kids. Melissa says she sees it in herself too...

Melissa: Making sure we have that outside time has really stuck with me, it's always been important, but one thing that we have been doing on the weekends is trying to go out to places and see a bit more of nature, where we can so -- and these are places in the city going to some like larger parks where there might be ravines or paths and trails. It's restorative, I think for both myself and and the children that I'm getting to be able to see more of nature and enjoy, you know, looking at bugs and trees and plants and different kinds of leaves and just, you know, different bodies of water. I think it's a positive thing for their own development, but also good for me just to be able to, for myself, to spend that time in nature and spend it with them.

Amanda: When you live downtown in a city, it’s easy to go days on end without ever thinking about green spaces. I mean, I've been living in Toronto for more than a decade and I've been to more city parks this last year than all the other years combined. I think life in lockdown has made many city dwellers rethink the importance of these spaces. But especially for kids, going to the park is a big deal! It can be the difference between a healthy, active lifestyle and days where only remote gym class (yes, that is a real thing) is the only time they get their heart pumping. 

So even when the pandemic is long behind us, I hope this appreciation for parks and greenspaces sticks around. 

Before we go, here’s a final note from Dr. Mitra about how Toronto Metropolitan University has helped support his work. 

Raktim: It speaks to the strength of the emphasis at Toronto Metropolitan University in the area of city building as one of the key research areas. It's a great place to do research on communities, and on the impact that community design and community social environment may have on our health, wellbeing, mobility and daily behaviors. I was happy to contribute this unique perspective to this large group of researchers. And certainly being at Toronto Metropolitan University in an environment where city building and the importance of the community on health and wellbeing is emphasized at every level of the university governance. It helped in terms of contributing meaningfully to this research.

Amanda: This podcast was created for alumni and friends by University Advancement, in partnership with City Building Toronto Metropolitan University. Special thanks to our guests on today’s episode, Melissa Wong and Dr. Raktim Mitra. This podcast was created by me, Amanda Cupido, and Emily Morantz. Both of us are proud Toronto Metropolitan University grads! 

To learn more about Dr. Mitra’s research, and to hear more episodes of this podcast and others, visit torontomu.ca/alumni/podcasts.