31/08/10 - Walking more could prevent 10,000 breast and bowel cancers
09/08/10 - UK breast cancer rates four times higher than Eastern Africa
02/08/10 - Father-of-two completes marathon car push in under 10 hours
Getting children active
Children need to be doing at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day to keep fit and healthy and to prevent unhealthy weight gain. In today’s sedentary environment it can be difficult for them to achieve this. Try our tips for getting your children more active.
| Instead of | Try this |
|---|---|
| Sitting in front of a DVD | Keep DVDs as a treat and regularly put on some fast music so your child (and you) can really dance around the room. Or, draw a chalk hopscotch pitch outside and teach them and their friends how to play! |
Hopping in the car for the school run or to go to the local shops |
Walk the route and talk to your child about the day ahead. If the school run is too far to walk, either park further away from the school or get off the bus a few stops early and walk the rest of the way. |
Automatically turning on the television or computer as soon as they get home from school |
Take them with you when you take the dog for a walk or encourage them to play in the garden or local park. Could they take up a new after-school club or learn a new activity at the local sports centre? Examples could include trampolining, street dancing, skateboarding, kick-boxing, swimming or football training. See what sports season is being shown on the television for some inspiration to try new things. |
Automatic pocket money |
Make them earn it! Give them physical jobs to do like gardening, taking the dog for a walk, sweeping leaves, dusting, hoovering or washing the car. |
Rewarding good behaviour with a high sugar or high fat treat |
Buy them a Velcro catch-ball set, a skipping rope, swing tennis, frisbee or a hula hoop and play with them too! |
Parties with unhealthy foods and DVDs |
Serve healthier party food and organise some fun, structured games for children. |
For some more ideas on encouraging your children to enjoy being healthy, visit the Great Grub Club or click here to find out about fun and active playground games.
Social bookmarking
Share, post to your profile or blog, or email to a friend
Feedback
We welcome your feedback on this site. Please email us or fill out our site survey form
