Denver Sports Physician Shares Tips For Keeping Students Active While Taking Virtual Classes

DENVER (CBS4) - With many schools starting the year virtually, children will be spending even more time at home. That means parents may be looking for ways to make sure their kids are active. CBSN Denver talked with Dr. Brooke Pengel, a pediatric sports physician at the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children.

Screen time will definitely go up as students return to class, but Pengel said children should be getting 60 minutes of exercise a day.

That means parents will need to actively schedule exercise for their kids. Pengel says there are fun, easy ways to encourage kids to get active.

"There are activity trackers out there, from either a watch or a phone, or that type of thing," Pengel said. "You can give kids goals that way."

Pengel said she also gets lots of questions about play dates. She said things like bike riding are great because kids can hang out with their friends while being socially distant.

"We still need to honor the principles of social distancing, hand hygiene and masks and that type of thing even in this pandemic, which is unfortunately another barrier because kids like to be around other kids when they're active and getting their fitness. You're going to have to strike a balance."

Pengel also encouraged parents to look for free Physical Education classes online.