The Case of “Farm to Table”
Let’s get back to the story of John Smith – our theoretical average sedentary fellow in the making – at the age when he is introduced to the established conventions of our modern world.
John’s parents were farmers. Their occupation required them to stay physically active and to spend a great deal of time outside pretty much year-round. They introduced John to the outdoors quite early, taking him along everywhere they went. It seemed like John started climbing trees before he could even walk. He also spent most of his time running rather than walking, racing dogs, cats, and chickens around the backyard. His body grew stronger, and he was as agile as perhaps any wild animal baby at his stage of development.
There were days when John’s parents had to take their produce to local farmers’ markets. As usual, they would take John along, strapping him into his car seat, in which he would spend hours while they were driving around, taking care of their business. Was this John’s first “proper” introduction to the Chair? We can only guess, but perhaps it was.
Sooner rather than later, John’s parents had to start taking him to a daycare facility during the week.
Overall, his days remained pretty active. He spent most of his time playing and socializing with other kids. He was fed on time, and he got his naps. There were, of course, some subtle differences that might not seem significant enough to mention. For instance, daycare workers discouraged activities that would “endanger” kids in any way, so climbing trees and crawling on all fours at the playground were off limits – but that’s a reasonable trade off for the safety provided, isn’t it? Kids were also restricted from running too fast and playing too rough. The best way to achieve this was to keep kids occupied with activities that didn’t really excite them, which would keep them calm and stationary. (This also made the supervision process easier for their caretakers.)
Little by little, John’s daily routines started incorporating crafty activities, such as drawing and sculpting Play-Doh; these activities encouraged creativity and introduced some discipline along the way. Kids were taught how to stay at their craft stations for a while, remaining seated in their chairs until everybody was finished with their projects. Later, there were music and singing lessons, during which sitting was strictly encouraged. When it was time to learn to read and write, that’s when John’s patience was really tested, as he was anchored down to his table and chair, often against his will.
John’s life at the farm had been slowly replaced with life at a table – drawing, sculpting, reading, writing, and, of course, sitting the whole time. Achievements in physical development were replaced with achievements in sitting and self-discipline, opening up opportunities for sedentary specialization and adaptations way too soon (if there’s an appropriate time for that.) Experts agree that kids who are involved in sports should avoid specialization until their late adolescence* to make sure that they have the proper conditions for diversified, wholesome development. Yes, even strict specialization in a physical activity can be problematic in the long run. Becoming sedentary and specialized in sitting at an early age must be a really significant problem then.
In addition, the overprotective daycare workers introduced some unnecessary, often unfounded, or exaggerated psychological “alarms” that were registered in John’s head as being associated with many essential activities he used to enjoy. They entered his subconscious defense mechanisms in the form of phrases like “Don’t run, or you may hurt yourself! Don’t climb that tree, you will fall and break a leg.” These accumulated fears of hurting himself became mixed with personal unpleasant experiences, which started holding him back. People said he wasn’t the “athletic” type, but he was just an obedient kid with an overpowering imagination that made him see danger in everything that he did. Besides, later on in his elementary school, the rules of conduct were strongly advising against running in the hallways. So, John stopped running. Walking seemed safer to him, anyways.
* "for most sports, intense training in a single sport to the exclusion of others should be delayed until late adolescence to optimize success while minimizing risk for injury and psychological stress" - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3658407/