Keeping our kids active

Physical activity and exercise are an important contributing factor to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and reducing the risk of chronic disease.

Developing healthy exercise habits is crucial for children as physical activity has many health benefits including:

  • Improved cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle, and bone strength.

  • Improved motor development, balance, coordination, and reflexes.

  • Reduced risk of developing lifelong chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

  • Improved social and emotional wellbeing, including improved confidence and concentration, reduced anti-social behaviours.

  • Improved anxiety and depressive symptoms.

The National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that children aged 2-5 engage in at least 180-minutes of physical activity per day, while children aged 5-17 engage in at least 60-minutes of physical activity per day and engage in muscle strengthening activities 3 times per week.

The most recent data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicates that only 30% of children aged 2-17 met these physical activity guidelines, with the percentage of children meeting these guidelines reducing as age increases.

HOW CAN YOU GET YOUR KIDS MORE ACTIVE?

• Choose activities that are fun!

• Get the whole family involved (pets too!)

• Try new things! Variety can prevent boredom and increase engagement

• Be a role model! Show your children why physical activity is important and how fun it can be

• Keep exercise positive! Don’t use exercise as a punishment - offer praise and encouragement

• Be patient and find the right activity. Some children won’t be interested in some of the activities below, however, stay patient and be adventurous with trying new activities.

PACE’S FAVOURITE KIDS ACTIVITIES

  • Active Transport: instead of driving to school or the shops, take an active approach such as walking, riding your bike, skating or rollerblading. Take the stairs instead of the lift or escalator.

  • Social and Competitive Sports: There are a multitude of team and individual sports available to try! Speak to your local sporting clubs to decide which sports are right for your kids.

  • Home Based Exercise Programs: Home exercise programs can be a great way to keeping kids active without needing to leave the house. There are many strength exercises that need no equipment – including squats, push-ups, and lunges. You can also use household items such as water bottles and bags of rice as weights to make exercises even harder. You can also include things like dancing, obstacle courses and games such as tiggy and follow the leader.

  • Family Time: Instead of watching TV or a movie, try an activity - playing active games, visiting the local park or oval, or taking the dog for a walk.

If you need more support in getting your kids active, PACE has dedicated programs for youngsters so get in touch

Mark Simpson