Children’s Health – exercise and your child
Just like adults, children need regular exercise to stay happy and healthy. In fact most children need at least an hour of physical activity every day. Sad then, that many children’s most common activity involves clicking a TV remote control or computer mouse. The positive news is that there are thousands of different, exciting ways for your child to get the exercise they need and to enjoy every minute of it.
Regular exercise helps children:
- Feel less stressed
- Feel better about themselves
- Feel more ready to learn in school
- Keep a healthy weight
- Build strong healthy bones, muscles and joints
- Sleep better at night
Today’s children spend more time watching TV and less time running around and playing. And because, as parents, we’re worried about them getting to school safely, we drive them to school more often than they walk there.
Here are a few simple things to help your child be more active:
- Limit the time your child spends watching TV, playing video games or on a computer.
- Be active yourself. Remember exercising together can be fun for the whole family.
- Encourage your child to get involved in team sports and ensure you watch and praise them when they do well.
- Let them walk to school or cycle there when you feel they are responsible enough.
- If your child doesn’t like playing football, cricket or netball – why not encourage them to try something different
like dancing, fencing, karate or yoga?
Here are some great ways for kids to get exercise:
- http://www.sta.co.uk
- http://www.safesport.co.uk/ChildrenAndSportWhenToBegin.html
- http://www.ara-rowing.org/njrp
- http://www.thefa.com/skills









