How much exercise are your kids really getting? Children aged five to 18 should be physically active for at least an hour a day to stay healthy, according to NHS guidelines. This may sound like a lot, but if your child’s playing a sport or two (or more) every week, they’re already leaps ahead to a healthy lifestyle. A Saturday morning football training session in the park followed by a match equals two hours of vigorous muscle and bone strengthening activity.
Here are some of the physical benefits of coaxing your children off the sofa and outdoors to play sport or simply run around in energetic games:
- They’ll feel better in mind and body.
- They’ll be better able to maintain a healthy weight.
- They’ll sleep better.
- They’ll be better able to concentrate and learn.
- They’ll develop coordination and skills.
And, of course there are huge social and emotional benefits to playing sport with other children.
These include:
- Making friends outside of school and improving their social skills.
- Recognising that effort reaps rewards - and that feels good.
- Resilience - how to get back up after a loss and keep on trying.
- Playing as a team and recognising and celebrating individuals’ strengths and skills that make you a team.
- Motivation and self-discipline. Yes, it can be tempting to stay in bed but your team and coach are relying on you.
What can parents do to encourage a love of sport and being active?
Be a role model. By being active yourself, you are sending a clear sign to your child that being active is a positive thing. Small changes, like walking to school rather than driving, can have a big impact.
Be active together. Kids love playing with their parents, rather than adults being on the sideline or doing boring talking. Seize the chance for a kickabout, suggest they become your evening running partner and whenever you’re in a big group of family and friends initiate one of these traditional energetic games, like British Bulldog or Capture the Castle.
In their early years, introduce your children to many different physical activities . Running, throwing and catching balls, climbing on playground equipment, swimming, dancing, scootering and riding bikes all count. Keep your child excited about exercise by changing activities and thinking up different challenges.
For example, place an object on the floor and encourage your child to pick it up without moving their feet. Each time they succeed, place it further away from their body making the picking up harder. This game helps to develop core stability but also, patience, planning and refining their movements. Being able to manipulate an object and having good hand eye coordination helps children to develop independent skills such as dressing, holding cutlery and using pens and pencils.
Show you value time spent on sport. Children tend to give up sport because of schoolwork pressures, so show them how making time to be physically active is time well spent - and will actually improve their ability to concentrate. Try to balance the desire to help by taxi-ing your child to training sessions, matches and galas with boosting independence by encouraging your child to take responsibility for their preparation, like pre-packing their equipment and organising travel.
But don’t get obsessive. Focusing too intensely on your child playing one single sport can backfire and turn your child off with the monotony and weight of expectations. But too many after-school sports can be exhausting for your child (and you!). Experts suggest the ideal is two or three different sports a year, honing in on one in your child’s teen years.
Make the most of the warm summer weather by getting the family out into the park or garden for a game of football or even backyard Olympics, like the family we featured in our Double The Fun video. Pack a picnic lunch and some special treats like Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddos. Choc-full of fun, delicious Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddos are made with fresh milk from British and Irish farms, for the perfect frog-shaped treat!