By Kyle Morrison, program manager and pediatric exercise physiologist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Healthy Weight Center

How many times do you ask parents of very young children about their development? Are they crawling? Trying to walk? Can they push a ball? Throw a ball? Skip?

Now, how many times do you ask a parent if they are teaching their child to do these activities? Actively engaging them in those activities?

If my question caught you off guard, you’re not alone. We’re primed to believe that most children just naturally develop these skills just as they naturally learn to breathe, eat and eventually become potty trained. But the reality (and what the science shows) is that while kids will likely still develop in these ways, they will do so much better if they have a parent or other adult actively engaging them in the standard physical activities of infancy and the toddler years above and beyond what naturally occurs.

While it might seem that toddlers and babies are in continual motion, that’s not true, particularly for first babies who tend to be held more during the first six to nine months of their lives compared to siblings that may follow.

The importance of physical activity during these years is so important that major national organizations like the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance have guidelines regarding infant interactions and physical activities, and recommending that toddlers engage in at least 30 minutes of structured physical activity each day.

More recently, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) developed two sets of guidelines designed to improve the health and activity levels of infants and toddlers. The recommendations, published in the April 2012 issue of the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, call for children ages 1 to 4 to accumulate at least 180 minutes of physical activity in a variety of free play and structured settings throughout the day. The guidelines go on to recommend that parents and caregivers limit prolonged sitting for more than an hour a time, as well as limit “excessive screen time.”

So how should parents ensure their young children get this amount of physical activity? You should encourage them to deliberately engage in activities by carrying infants into new environments and putting them down on the floor to explore; standing over them when the stepping reflex kicks in, holding their hands, and helping them make practice steps; putting a ball or toy in front of them and encouraging them to scoot or crawl towards it, or littering their path with blocks or toys so they learn to circumnavigate obstacles.

As children get older, parents should engage in more active play, such as tossing a ball, riding a tricycle or scooter, going for walks. You might also recommend parents see if the Start Smart Sports Development Program is available in their community. This program, from the National Alliance for Youth Sports, is a developmentally appropriate introductory sports program for children 3 to 5 years old.

When parents participate in physical activity with young, developing children, they improve the likelihood that this modeling will help promote future activity levels. These early opportunities for physical activity also help build the skill sets and confidence kids need to be active in the later stages of childhood through adulthood.

Kyle Morrison is a program manager and pediatric exercise physiologist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital’s Healthy Weight Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.