Response #6: Why are teens watching so much TV? Will these new guidelines help teens move more?

New guidelines aimed at getting kids moving
Canadian youngsters should spend no more than two hours daily in front of computer and TV screens, according to new behaviour guidelines.
The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology unveiled the guidelines Tuesday in hopes of minimizing the time children and youth between ages five and 17 spend in low-energy behaviours.
On top of the expected recommendations -- spend less time playing passive video games and watching TV -- the guidelines say youth should try to scale back sedentary transport, such as taking the bus or travelling by car.
Kids, five to 11, are encouraged to walk to school with a group of friends in their neighbourhood. Older youth are asked to consider biking to school. Or instead of texting a friend, why not try getting up and visiting them in person.
But it's a tough task, reducing "screen time."
The average school-age Canadian spends about 62 per cent of their waking hours in screen time -- that's 8.6 hours a day.
The society released its physical activity guidelines for Canadians only a few weeks ago. Children and youth were advised to get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a day. However, only about 7 per cent of youth meet those guidelines, the society says.
"We're not saying replace sedentary behaviour with exercise per se -- (although) that would be wonderful. But replace it with something else other than sedentary behaviour," Mark Tremblay, chair of the physical activity guidelines committee told The Canadian Press.
"If that's just standing more often, then wonderful. If it's walking more often, if it's getting outside, if it's doing chores around the house, if it's doing a hobby that doesn't have you sitting immobile, then what our research shows is that that is associated with a decrease in health risks over and above the benefits that kids get from high-level physical activity."
With computers built into the curriculum, some schools are looking at new ways to get their students moving.
At Earl Grey School in Winnipeg, they are trying out after-school dance classes.
"They're participating and being fit, but they're not aware of it and that works really well," principal Gail Singer told CTV News.
In New Brunswick, the province's largest school district is incorporating physical activities into more student routines.
School District 2 recently announced the launch of Move 2 Improve at Beaverbrook School in Moncton and its investment in exercise equipment, such as treadmills and spin bikes.

Response #4- Media stories about teens. Why don't newspapers have more good news stories about teens?

Teens responsible for vandalisms, assaults, robbery in Esquimalt

By Erin Cardone - Victoria News
Published: February 08, 2011 6:00 PM
Updated: February 08, 2011 6:24 PM

Five assaults and one robbery on adults and children alike in Esquimalt last weekend are just the latest incidents involving unruly teens in the township, police say.

"There's about 10 youths we've been in contact with" in the past month, said Sgt. Grant Hamilton.

On Friday, calls about a group of four to six teens began pouring in to VicPD's dispatch centre at 9:30 p.m.

A man and woman were approached on the West Bay Marina footpath by three teens with bandanas over their faces, who demanded cash. One pulled a knife and the 55-year-old man's finger was cut.

Next, a group of teens tried to rob a 34-year-old Esquimalt man on a bike at Dunsmuir Road and Head Street. When the cyclist refused to hand over his money, the teens pulled him to the ground and hit him.

Soon thereafter, a 30-year-old Esquimalt man was punched in the same block when he didn't provide the teens with a cigarette.

By 10 p.m., police were notified a 10-year-old boy was punched in the face by one in a group of teens, while walking with his mom near Tim Hortons in the 800 block of Esquimalt Road.

Before 11, a 14-year-old boy was sucker-punched while walking home with his mom in the 800 block of Dunsmuir.

Police brought in a canine unit to track the teens and arrested two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old. Officers think between one and three other teens were involved.

The teens are not believed to live in Esquimalt. One gave officers a Sooke address.

Mischief among youth isn't a problem endemic to Esquimalt, or any community, said Meagan Brame, an Esquimalt councillor and mother of two teens.

"There's good youth and there's troubled youth in every community," Brame said. "It flares up and it flares down, but I wouldn't paint it as Esquimalt's problem."

The teens, Hamilton said, are not related to previous incidents in the past four weeks involving youth getting into trouble. Instead, there's a problem in Esquimalt where parents aren't minding their teens.

On Jan. 27, VicPD officers arrested a 17 year old but were eluded by others after a break-in at Rockheights middle school. It was the second break-in at the school in two days.

On Jan. 26, a window at Macaulay elementary was smashed and on the 27th, the boards covering the open window were set ablaze using diesel fuel.

Also on Jan. 26, an elderly woman living in the 1000 block of Munro Street heard glass smash as a large rock came flying through her bedroom window. A 16-year-old was arrested.

Earlier, on Jan. 7, the tires of 31 vehicles, including four police cars, were slashed with a knife. The slashings happened at VicPD's West Division and near the Archie Browning Sports Centre. Four teens were arrested, age 14 and 16.

"Whether it's the demographics of Esquimalt, we're not sure," Hamilton said, "but there's definitely more of a problem with youth."