When pediatricians ask kids about sports and activities, membership in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts often comes up as an activity.
How physically active are these kids though? Sure they are likely active when they go on campouts, but do they encourage a lot of physical activities on a more regular basis?
Since "to keep myself physically strong" is part of the Scout Oath, you would figure that they do. And with merit badges for personal fitness, sports, and a number of physical activities and sports, it does seem like they take physical activity serious.
It seems like they are going to make an even bigger commitment to physical activity with a new SCOUTStrong Scout-specific Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) challenge.
To earn the SCOUTStrong PALA patch, scouts will need to be active for 60 minutes a day, five days a weeks for six weeks. Earning the SCOUTStrong PALA will teach kids how to make a commitment to being active each day, which will hopefully encourage them to be active for the rest of their lives.
It is hoped that more than 500,000 scouts will achieve the SCOUTStrong PALA before the next national Scout jamboree in 2013.
Pediatricians and parents of kids in Boy Scouts should ask about getting their kids involved in the SCOUTStrong PALA challenge.
If your child isn't in the Boy Scouts, he or she can still sign up for the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) challenge. You'll have to buy your own certificate and badge when you finish, but all of the benefits of being more active are free.
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