How To Keep Your Kids Active And Healthy This Year

Why get active?

Your New Year’s resolution may be to lead a more active and healthy lifestyle. 

Daily physical activity for children is also proven to be beneficial for their social, emotional and physical growth and development.

Some of the many benefits include:

  • Building strong bones and healthy muscles

  • Improving balance

  • Developing flexibility

  • Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight

  • Reducing stress and feeling more relaxed

  • Improving posture

  • Boosting confidence and self-esteem

Encouraging kids and teens to be active from a young age sets good habits early on and helps them develop the skills they need to stay active throughout their lives.

The Australian Department of Health recommends that children aged between 5 and 12 be active for at least 60 minutes a day.  Children who run vigorously during their lunch break or participate in after-school sports may easily achieve this daily target.

It may be more difficult, however, to motivate children who dislike team sports, find physical activity challenging or prefer to spend their time in a quieter manner.

There are a variety of reasons why children do not want to participate in sport or physical activity such as:

  • feeling shy or embarrassed

  • feeling incompetent

  • disinterested

  • a dislike for the uniform

  • temperature concerns (being too hot or cold)

  • feeling pressured to perform and win

  • feeling self-conscious

 How to help your child be more active

  • Have an open and honest conversation to identify a child’s concerns and to help address them

  • Assist them to develop a love for non-competitive physical activities like; yoga, surfing, skateboarding, rock climbing, bike riding, bushwalking, dancing, kayaking, frisbee or walking the dog.

  • You can have a strong impact by personally engaging in exercise and presenting a positive attitude towards it.

  •  Fun, physical outings are also a way to strengthen your relationship within your family, while modelling a value of health and wellbeing.

  • Make sure that kids and teens have the opportunity to be active during and after school, either through active play or organised sport.