Freewheelin'

Two weeks ago, I received a few video clips of my granddaughter’s 5th birthday party. Although my daughter had loosely scripted a fairy-themed event, she was wise enough to have stepped back and let the children freewheel. What I watched was a half a dozen 4- and 5-year-old girls wearing their self-decorated fairy wings running and running and running in a tree-shaded park jumping (or in their minds flying) on and off a small stage yelling "Calling all fairies, calling all fairies." Forty minutes of nonstop running and jumping, a cupcake and small scoop of ice cream, and that was it ... the perfect party.

No one was coaching these little cherubs to run. No one had set up traffic cones or a finish line. No ribbons or plastic medals were awarded in recognition of their participation. They were running for the sheer pleasure of activity, driven by what is probably an inborn urge to move. Every toddler I have known functions like a tightly wound windup toy ready to hit the ground running when placed down on the straight flat surface of a shopping mall or airport concourse.

It appears that this drive to run is not unique to young Homo sapiens. Two Dutch scientists set up a small running wheel in a wooded setting and then using motion sensors and remote video recorders watched what happened (Proc. R. Soc. B 2014 [doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.0210]). It turns out that wild mice enjoy running, spending from 1 to 18 minutes freewheeling. Frogs also occasionally jumped on and off the wheel, but running was obviously not their thing.

While the drive to run seems to be bred into us, unfortunately it is an urge that is easily extinguished. One needs only to watch a physical education class of sixth graders being asked to do a 1-mile run/walk to become painfully aware that too many children can no longer run, let alone do it for the pure enjoyment. How did such a strong drive disappear?

I wonder what would have happened if the Dutch investigators had put a smart phone with a colorful app running next to the wheel. How many of the mice have chosen to sit down and watch the screen instead of climbing on for a run? If a small electric train running in a circle had been placed next in the environment, would some of the mice have preferred to hop on for a ride? Or suppose they had played a recording of an older mouse squeaking a warning call that was the rodent equivalent of "Don’t climb on that; you could hurt yourself"?

I certainly believe (and there is animal evidence to support) that certain individuals inherit a preference for a sedentary lifestyle. However, I am equally sure that we have created a society that provides an abundance of powerfully attractive sedentary options to remaining active. In my mind, first and foremost among these attractions is color television (I don’t recall black and white TV being all that exciting). The magnetic attraction of colorful and active video images is difficult for anyone to resist. As pediatricians, we must continue to preach the word about the health hazards associated with screen time. And, I would add again my plea for us to spend less energy on worrying about what’s on the screen and instead emphasize the need to keep the exposure time down.

Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics including "How to Say No to Your Toddler." E-mail him at [email protected].

Two weeks ago, I received a few video clips of my granddaughter’s 5th birthday party. Although my daughter had loosely scripted a fairy-themed event, she was wise enough to have stepped back and let the children freewheel. What I watched was a half a dozen 4- and 5-year-old girls wearing their self-decorated fairy wings running and running and running in a tree-shaded park jumping (or in their minds flying) on and off a small stage yelling "Calling all fairies, calling all fairies." Forty minutes of nonstop running and jumping, a cupcake and small scoop of ice cream, and that was it ... the perfect party.

No one was coaching these little cherubs to run. No one had set up traffic cones or a finish line. No ribbons or plastic medals were awarded in recognition of their participation. They were running for the sheer pleasure of activity, driven by what is probably an inborn urge to move. Every toddler I have known functions like a tightly wound windup toy ready to hit the ground running when placed down on the straight flat surface of a shopping mall or airport concourse.

It appears that this drive to run is not unique to young Homo sapiens. Two Dutch scientists set up a small running wheel in a wooded setting and then using motion sensors and remote video recorders watched what happened (Proc. R. Soc. B 2014 [doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.0210]). It turns out that wild mice enjoy running, spending from 1 to 18 minutes freewheeling. Frogs also occasionally jumped on and off the wheel, but running was obviously not their thing.

While the drive to run seems to be bred into us, unfortunately it is an urge that is easily extinguished. One needs only to watch a physical education class of sixth graders being asked to do a 1-mile run/walk to become painfully aware that too many children can no longer run, let alone do it for the pure enjoyment. How did such a strong drive disappear?

I wonder what would have happened if the Dutch investigators had put a smart phone with a colorful app running next to the wheel. How many of the mice have chosen to sit down and watch the screen instead of climbing on for a run? If a small electric train running in a circle had been placed next in the environment, would some of the mice have preferred to hop on for a ride? Or suppose they had played a recording of an older mouse squeaking a warning call that was the rodent equivalent of "Don’t climb on that; you could hurt yourself"?

I certainly believe (and there is animal evidence to support) that certain individuals inherit a preference for a sedentary lifestyle. However, I am equally sure that we have created a society that provides an abundance of powerfully attractive sedentary options to remaining active. In my mind, first and foremost among these attractions is color television (I don’t recall black and white TV being all that exciting). The magnetic attraction of colorful and active video images is difficult for anyone to resist. As pediatricians, we must continue to preach the word about the health hazards associated with screen time. And, I would add again my plea for us to spend less energy on worrying about what’s on the screen and instead emphasize the need to keep the exposure time down.

Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics including "How to Say No to Your Toddler." E-mail him at [email protected].

Two weeks ago, I received a few video clips of my granddaughter’s 5th birthday party. Although my daughter had loosely scripted a fairy-themed event, she was wise enough to have stepped back and let the children freewheel. What I watched was a half a dozen 4- and 5-year-old girls wearing their self-decorated fairy wings running and running and running in a tree-shaded park jumping (or in their minds flying) on and off a small stage yelling "Calling all fairies, calling all fairies." Forty minutes of nonstop running and jumping, a cupcake and small scoop of ice cream, and that was it ... the perfect party.

No one was coaching these little cherubs to run. No one had set up traffic cones or a finish line. No ribbons or plastic medals were awarded in recognition of their participation. They were running for the sheer pleasure of activity, driven by what is probably an inborn urge to move. Every toddler I have known functions like a tightly wound windup toy ready to hit the ground running when placed down on the straight flat surface of a shopping mall or airport concourse.

It appears that this drive to run is not unique to young Homo sapiens. Two Dutch scientists set up a small running wheel in a wooded setting and then using motion sensors and remote video recorders watched what happened (Proc. R. Soc. B 2014 [doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.0210]). It turns out that wild mice enjoy running, spending from 1 to 18 minutes freewheeling. Frogs also occasionally jumped on and off the wheel, but running was obviously not their thing.

While the drive to run seems to be bred into us, unfortunately it is an urge that is easily extinguished. One needs only to watch a physical education class of sixth graders being asked to do a 1-mile run/walk to become painfully aware that too many children can no longer run, let alone do it for the pure enjoyment. How did such a strong drive disappear?

I wonder what would have happened if the Dutch investigators had put a smart phone with a colorful app running next to the wheel. How many of the mice have chosen to sit down and watch the screen instead of climbing on for a run? If a small electric train running in a circle had been placed next in the environment, would some of the mice have preferred to hop on for a ride? Or suppose they had played a recording of an older mouse squeaking a warning call that was the rodent equivalent of "Don’t climb on that; you could hurt yourself"?

I certainly believe (and there is animal evidence to support) that certain individuals inherit a preference for a sedentary lifestyle. However, I am equally sure that we have created a society that provides an abundance of powerfully attractive sedentary options to remaining active. In my mind, first and foremost among these attractions is color television (I don’t recall black and white TV being all that exciting). The magnetic attraction of colorful and active video images is difficult for anyone to resist. As pediatricians, we must continue to preach the word about the health hazards associated with screen time. And, I would add again my plea for us to spend less energy on worrying about what’s on the screen and instead emphasize the need to keep the exposure time down.

Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics including "How to Say No to Your Toddler." E-mail him at [email protected].