Parents Talk: Physical Fitness Report

I’m not sure how many other schools are doing this, but with my son’s end-of-the-year report card came a “Fitness Gram.”

This report lists my son’s physical fitness score card, to borrow a sports term. The Fitness Gram program is in provided in partnership with NFL Play 60, a NFL program to encourage children to play for 60 minutes a day in order to tackle childhood obesity.

Another partner of the Fitness Gram is the Cooper Institute, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to preventive medicine research and education.

The Fitness Gram, released nationally in 1982, was created to increase parental awareness of children's fitness levels by developing a practical way for physical education teachers to report the results of physical fitness and physical activity assessments, according to its website.

So, thanks to the Fitness Gram, I now know how many push-ups my son can do and his aerobic capacity, according to PACER laps (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run).

I also know his BMI (body mass index), although the height used to calculate his BMI wasn’t accurate when recorded at the beginning of the year, making it looked like he was severely underweight. Fortunately, measurements recorded in spring cleared up that problem.

Overall, according to the report, my son doesn’t have any fitness challenges, with all his scores falling in the “Healthy Fitness” zones. He excels in some area, particularly sit-ups and push-ups, thanks mostly to his tae kwon do classes, I think.

But I’m wondering what the report would look like for a parent of child who struggles with being overweight or has other fitness challenges, like lack of flexibility or strength. And I’m wondering how such information would be received.