Beyond the Playground: Physical Literacy for Life

Today, we’re tackling one of the most overlooked foundations of kids’ health: physical literacy. It’s time we stop treating movement as optional. Like reading or writing, it’s a skill every child deserves to master. And few people understand that better than Dr. Ali McManus, Director of the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC Okanagan where she also directs the Pediatric Inactivity & Exercise Physiology Research Lab, or PERL lab. Her work explores how physical literacy develops across the lifespan and how early experiences with movement influence our physical and mental well‑being for decades to come. Ali’s research bridges science and everyday life — connecting lab data with the realities of classrooms, families, and communities. Today, we’ll talk about what the evidence is showing, the real‑world choices shaping our kids’ relationships with movement, and how we can all play a part in steering this ship back in the right direction.