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Encouraging children to be active

Modern day technology is great – children get to watch TV on demand and can access a huge range of programmes and games on their tablets. There’s no need to wait for a set time of day to watch a particular programme and adverts are now few and far between as there’s the ability to whizz pass these too. It means children can easily be in front of the screen for too long and I am certainly guilty of putting the TV on to keep my boys entertained or let them play games on their tablets. I then forget how long they’ve been sat in front of the screen for. So it’s no surprise that this could be a contributing factor to childhood obesity.

A Health Survey for England (HSE) shows that in 2014, 31.2% of children aged 2-15 were classed as either overweight or obese which rather high. It’s becoming more and more apparent that we need to be encouraging our children to be more active and have a healthier lifestyle to minimise the risk of future health problems.

Research commissioned by playground equipment provider ESP Play found that “68% of a child’s PE lesson is spent stationery” which is really surprising. Luckily further research shows there is a 19% increase in physical activity when ESP’s methods and playground environments are utilised. These include multi-skills concepts that have been specifically designed to improve activity levels in the playground. It’s reassuring to know that certainly some of these concepts have been implemented at the school my boys currently attend.

Their playground is full of playground markings which include hopscotch and snakes and ladders.

Specialist playground surfacing has been used to create these markings for children to play with. These tarmac surfaces, as you would imagine, are very durable and even suitable to play on in all weather conditions. They also have a good sized field, a football court and an adventure playground.

playtowers

Thankfully, we’ve not had to worry much about the boy’s weight as they are both in the “healthy” range but we do still want them to make healthy choices and have an active lifestyle. I think it’s something they should be made aware of so that it becomes second nature and not a chore.

Naturally, they will learn from us as parents too of course, so it’s important that we eat well and are active too. We both definitely need to improve in the “active” part ourselves but we do very much encourage the boys to be active wherever possible.

Here are just some of the things we do to encourage them to be active.

Walk/Scoot to school

The trip to and from school is a great way of fitting in some physical activity in and the boys enjoy going in on their scooters. It makes for a much less stressful journey than attempting to drive too as we end up leaving at the same time regardless anyway!

boys-scooting

In the garden

I barely see the boys in Spring/Summer time because they spend most of their time outdoors. They love bouncing on their trampoline as well as competing in imaginary bike races and competitions. When the weather allows we even get the paddling pool out and put together a makeshift water slide!

 

Local playground

There are some great parks near us, all within a 10-15 minute walk. Our closest one has a big area for kids to run around in as well as a basketball court, tennis court and a play area with swings, slides and climbing equipment. There has also been a recent addition of outdoor gym equipment too.

boys-football

Bike riding

We’ve been doing a lot of this over the Summer and are lucky enough to have a place close to us that is perfect for children learning to ride their bikes. It has a BMX track, skate park and a multi-court play area. We’ve spent a good few hours here – the boys happily go off on their bikes and I get to sit back and watch them zoom past me!

 

Classes

It’s not possible to be active outdoors all the time and although we don’t do many classes we do feel that learning to swim is an important thing to learn at a young age. E has been having swimming lessons since he was three and it has improved his confidence in water no end. We also went to The Little Gym which is fantastic for building strength in their core and for improving their coordination.

little-gym-inside2

There’s nothing groundbreaking on our list but I really like the fact that some of these are incorporated into our normal day-to-day lives.

What do you do to encourage your children to be active?

*Collaborative post

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About The Author

Picture of Maria
Hello and welcome to Suburban Mum! I'm Maria and I'm mum to two boys - E who's 14 and M who's 11. This blog is about my family, the ups and downs of being a working mum and everything in between. If you want to find out more about me and my family head over to our About us page.

16 thoughts on “Encouraging children to be active”

  2. Chilli Regina

    I definitelly agree with you, we have to encourage our kids to be active. Me and my family try to be as much outdoors as possible, with biking, roller blading, jogging, hiking. It has a big impact on our family’s wellbeing..
    #picknmix

    Reply
  3. Jan

    Our local park is just a five minute walk so we visit there often. The children often play out on their scooters too. We also don’t have a car so our daily lives involve a lot of walking! #PicknMix

    Reply
  4. OddHogg

    I can’t believe so much of a PE class is spent stationary – doesn’t that defeat the purpose?! We live right next to a fab park so I hope Piglet and I will spend many an afternoon wandering around and playing in there as he grows 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday

    Reply
  5. Kristin McCarthy

    This is probably the ONLY thing that I dont fret over regarding my kids- they never ever stop moving….not a single one.

    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  6. The Hippy Christian Mum

    Luckily for us living in Wales there are lots and lots of outdoor spaces to enjoy. In the summer my daughter spent so much time in the garden on her trampoline too because we just moved house and the new garden is so much better to play in. She also likes to do a lot of dancing too, in the house, in the garden, wherever we are. Oh and Hoola hooping too! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  7. Laura garnett

    Wow I’m shocked most of a PE lesson is stationery! Like you say it’s so easy to sit them infront of a tv or with a tablet. These
    Day to day activities you do just goes to show how easy it is to incorporate exercise in everyday life. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  8. Relentlessly Purple

    I was honestly shocked last year to find out just how many children at Eva’s school are classed as overweight. The school runs a course to help children & their parent’s who are classed as overweight which at first I though was a bit OTT but tbh I do now think it is a great idea, I hadn’t realised just how uninformed some parents are. I have been lucky tbh as both my girls seem to always be eating but they never stops moving either! Eva absolutely loves her 1mile run with the school each morning, I wonder how many schools are doing the same!? X #KCACOLS

    Reply
  10. Louise

    It’s great to keep your children active, I love the idea of gymnastics classes. My sons only a baby but I can tell already he won’t be a dormant child, he’s always moving! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  11. Savannah

    This is AWESOME! Childhood obesity is also a major issue here in the US, and keeping my son active is something that is always on my mind. I love the idea of walking/scooting to school! Great way to wake up before classes, and get some energy burned. I also want to enroll my son in some classes when he gets a bit bigger. Thanks so much for the reminder <3 #KCACOLS

    Reply
  12. ohmummymia

    I remember when I was a kid I was spending all days outside with friends. TV could not exist but nowadays when I see all this kids with phones, tablets, computers eh it’s make me sad I hope my son will no how to spend time without this kind of ‘toys’
    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  14. Mummy and Monkeys

    Completely agree on the importance of keeping our kids active. Like you I don’t need to worry as they are naturally active and enjoy physical activities. A great list of easy ideas. Thanks for linking to #PickNMix
    Eilidh x

    Reply
  15. Jason @tassiedad

    Fantastic post! Luckily, our little guy gets plenty of exercise, but its always something I’m conscious of every day. Thanks for sharing #KCACOLS

    Reply
  16. Jenn @ Mad Mommy

    Seeing kids overweight literally breaks my heart. I have a 6 and 4-year-old boys and it is so incredibly easy to keep them active. I was an overweight kid and I am determined to not have overweight kids myself as it is something I STILL struggle with. #KCACOLS

    Reply

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