My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

This topic is for sponsored discussions. If you'd like to run one with us, please email [email protected].

MNHQ have commented on this thread

Sponsored threads

Do your children get 60 mins of active time a day? Add your comment and you could win a £100 voucher - NOW CLOSED

216 replies

AnnMumsnet · 11/06/2013 14:06

We've been asked by the team at Seara to find out if (and how) your children (aged 5-18) (and other children you know) are getting the full recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day?

For guidelines see the NHS Choices site

Please share your thoughts and experiences on this thread. Please also share your tips for what you do to encourage your DC's to be active - or what you do with your DC's to get them active?

Share your tips etc on this thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 Love2Shop voucher.

We do recognise that, for various reasons, not all children (or adults) are able to reach the target of 60 minutes of exercise per day - and that 'exercise' can mean different things for different people. If this is the case for your child, do also feel free to share your experiences about how you encourage physical activity in ways that are consistent with their capacities.

thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Also: Seara are running a "Grassroots To Greatness Competition" at the moment: enter your childs' football team into the competition for their chance to win a Seara football sponsorship for next season - worth £3,000! More details here //www.seara.co.uk

OP posts:
Report
pollywollydoodle · 11/06/2013 14:21

my 9 yo dd gets hers by:
running/cycling/scooting to beat me on my mobility scooter on the way to school/trampolining/friends'houses/the park
Don't drive anywhere unless it really is foul/too far
Swimming and trampoline lessons
A garden with a trampoline, swingball and some grass where dh lays out obstacle courses for her

luckily she is quite sporty (unlike meWink )

Report
pollywollydoodle · 11/06/2013 14:24

i would say she gets an hour or more 5-6 days a week

Report
ValentineWiggins · 11/06/2013 14:26

I would say my dd gets around that - there's PE at school 3 times a week, plus swimming (twice), gym and general running round the garden/trampoline.

Report
OvO · 11/06/2013 14:30

Yes, but sometimes I'll have to bribe them with a biscuit to GET OUT THE CHUFFING HOUSE AND GO PLAY.

Only slightly defeats the purpose. Blush

My 8 year old either walks/bikes/scooters to and from school. My 5 year old thinks his legs are going to drop off is he is made to walk.

They do a trampolining class once a week and a dance class.

Report
Lizzylou · 11/06/2013 14:32

My boys do, with PE, afterschool football, Golf lessons, swimming lessons, walk back to Childminders every evening.
At weekends we try and get out for a walk, encourage them to play outside, family bike rides etc.
DS2 is definitely the lazier of the two, he loves nature though so we try and combine that.
They both love Just Dance if it is bad weather (or maybe just laughing at me doing it Blush).

Report
ditavonteesed · 11/06/2013 14:35

always, we walk to school which is 15 minutes each way, we walk the dogs for an hour a day and they always play on the trampoline come rain or shine , gymnastics in the lounge on rainy days. My dd's (7yo and 9yo) are a bit like dogs and if they dont get a good amount of excercise they bounce off the walls.

Report
MegBusset · 11/06/2013 14:38

I struggle to get mine to sit still for an hour a day Grin They are constantly on the go. We walk (well I walk, they run) to and from school and do longer walks at the weekends, they spend a lot of time in the garden or generally dashing about the house. At school/preschool they have access to good outdoor space & equipment.

I think the best way to keep them active is to make it part of their everyday life and also set a good example. I'm not very sporty but we are very outdoorsy and also they see me go out in my running gear.

Report
mistlethrush · 11/06/2013 14:40

Definitely at least 5 days a week - and probably on the additional two most weeks. This is PE, after school sports, karate. Weekends are easy - karate, dog walking, playing in the garden, cycling - its school days that are more likely to be problematical, but with the good weather its much better for being in the garden or taking the dog out for another walk.

Report
popelloucla · 11/06/2013 14:42

We walk to school and back every day and I assume they run around a bit at break and lunch.
P.E. twice a week, dancing twice a week and swimming once a week.
DD2 is more active, but DD1 probably averages at least 60 minutes a day.
Last night they were outside for a couple of hours doing gymnastics, riding their bikes and playing on the slide.

Report
SummersHere · 11/06/2013 14:50

More like 3-4 hours a day. Very active almost 5yr old. We walk/scoot everywhere (average 5-6 miles per day). Park, swimming, football, walks in the woods, soft play.
On warm evenings he has an hour playing on the local green after dinner too. Certainly keeps me fit!

Report
wonkylegs · 11/06/2013 14:52

My DS gets about that everyweek day and a bit more on weekends.
Walking to & from school (usually running & telling mummy to hurry up), out on bike, at park or just running round like a loony + playtime & PE at school.
We are hoping it will increase as we are about to move house to one with a huge garden which will help with getting outside as football/riding bike/obstacle course is currently restricted to the park.

Report
Titsalinabumsquash · 11/06/2013 14:55

My 2 get 60 mins easily (when DS1 is well) football, general rough housing and silly games give them plenty of excersise, the also have 2 playtimes at school (usually filled with football) and twice weekly PE.
I find it harder to get them to run around tbh.

Report
BeCool · 11/06/2013 14:59

My 5yo DD has a short walk to school, then a walk to after school care, where she usually runs/climbs/jumps etc for at least an hour. She loves to run, jump, scoot, climb etc and even on a 'lazy' day on a wet weekend she would have at least an hour moving/playing outside somewhere. She is very active naturally - which is lovely to see.

DD2 - only 2 now - is looking like being the same.

Report
CMOTDibbler · 11/06/2013 15:00

Ds is 7. He gets around 1hr45min general running round at school outside a day (adventure playground and large hard surface even in rain, large field for football/rugby/cricket playing at playtime).
Mondays he has cricket club, Weds, 1 hr games plus 1hr tennis, Thurs 1hr games lesson, Friday 1 hr swimming club, Sat 2 hrs horse riding plus general running round outside, maybe cycling as a family, Sun 2 hrs riding plus swimming and outside time.

His school are very outdoors and the children are always out and active

Report
EauRouge · 11/06/2013 15:03

Some days they get less, some days they get a lot more. I'd say it averages out at an hour a day.

My eldest DD is not the outdoorsy type but she will happily go to the playground. She has also expressed an interest in running because I go a few times a week. I've taken her for a trot around the block a few times and she loves it. She goes to gymnastics and ice skating once a week.

My youngest I have to drag out of the garden when it's bed time but is a bit young to really enjoy the playground and too young for any classes. She loves soft play though.

I think the trick is finding something they enjoy and then they learn to enjoy exercise and see it as part of life, rather than seeing it as a chore or something that they have to do.

Report
chesticles · 11/06/2013 15:04

Not sure really. DD (5) goes to dance and gymnastics classes each week. She also plays on the trampoline and kicks a ball about the garden for 30 - 60 minutes after tea. But that is interspersed with looking a bugs and watering flowers! She walks/scoots to 1 mile each way to nursery with the childminder a couple of times a week. The other days she goes in the car with Granny.
It probably all mounts up, but I suspect she should be more active.

Report
Xiaoxiong · 11/06/2013 15:05

On nice days it's easy - we go out to the park and he just runs round as much as possible. We usually walk there on reins, and I sling him when he gets tired and starts grabbing my knees to be carried on the way home. He's only just 18 months though so 60 minutes is about as much as he can handle in one go!

We don't have a garden big enough to be really active in, so for wet days is we've made one of the rooms in the attic into a playroom - suddenly he is willing to climb unaided up three floors' worth of stairs to get trains, down three floors to get a snack, up three floors to get back to the trains...

Report
vitaminC · 11/06/2013 15:07

We live in a flat, in an inner city, so no garden.
We rarely use our car - most places are easily accessible on foot/bike or by tram. When the weather is fine, we cycle to school and often the younger kids (DDs 8 and 10) will stay out for an hour riding around a nearby field after school.

We also go swimming fairly regularly, go bowling and ice skating from time to time and all 3 kids do sport or dance at least twice a week, in addition to PE lessons at school.

My 10yo DD currently has a stress fracture and is not allowed to do any sport for 3 months. It's hard to stop her as she's naturally such an active child!

The best way I have found to get my 14yo moving, however, is by taking her to Laser Game Wink

Report
Quangle · 11/06/2013 15:08

I don't think they do. We live less than 2 mins from school and in a very urban area so not much scope for playing outside - no garden to speak of.

They do PE at school once a week (they are 6 and 3). They also do a couple of activity-related after school clubs (DS does football and FitKids which is basically games in the school hall and DD does dance) and both of them have swimming lessons but I'm not sure it adds up to an hour every day (although they do run around at playtime the school doesn't really have any outside space - they play on playdecks which are semi-internal and not huge. Enough for the 3yo but maybe not enough for the 6yo).

We walk everywhere though and spend a lot of time at the playground at the weekend.

The biggest problems for us are the lack of school facilities and school time to do this stuff. I'd like them to be doing something at school almost every day but there isn't time in the curriculum.

Report
Xiaoxiong · 11/06/2013 15:10

PS I absolutely agree with EauRouge - I was a geeky bookish type at school and my parents actively discouraged team sports. As a result there's nothing that I really enjoy doing except swimming, and that's such a production that I don't do it on a regular basis. I would love DS to do some sort of sociable exercise activity that's not too serious but that he can keep up when he's an adult, like tennis or squash.

Report
chickensaladagain · 11/06/2013 15:26

Honestly? No they don't

I work full time so school run is in the car 7.30 drop off and collect at 6, then by the time they have eaten its too late to play out

My 11 yo dd spends playtime and lunch mooching around the playground talking to her friends -it's not the done thing to run in yr 6
Her playing out at the weekend involves walking to the park then sitting on the swings chatting

She actually loves team games and plays rugby, dodgeball, netball and rounders when they are available at school but these are inconsistent and certainly not every week
She would love to join a rugby team but she spends alternate weekends with her dad and he won't commit to it

Dd2 is 9 and still runs around at lunch, plays on the trampoline after school and dances in the house but I would still say she doesn't consistently get 1 hour a day

Report
MrsJohnDeere · 11/06/2013 18:37

Easily, unless pouring with rain. Dcs 5 and 7.

Playtime plus play after lunch at school = 60 mins (of running around and/or football).

Plus PE three times a week at school.
Swimming once a week
Tennis once a week.
Endless hours of football and tennis at home.

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

MrsJohnDeere · 11/06/2013 18:38

Plus cycling and long dog walks at weekend and school holidays.

Report
defineme · 11/06/2013 18:43

I'm not sure.
Today definitely-
ds1 in garden before school.
school run walk 15 minutes each way.
Running around at break times on large school fields (ds has football scrape as evidence, dd was hanging off play apparatus and ds1 has asd and constantly walks/flaps.
Came home and went on garden swings/trampoline.
Gone for 1 hour swimming lesson with grandparents.

Ds1 has been hard to motivate when swimming, but he will always swim lengths if we do them with him.
Ds2 is motivated by anything competitive.
Dd is harder to motivate, but likes to do activities without her brothers!

On a day when it's hideous weather and I know traffic will be bad on way to work we may drive to school. It's harder in winter when they gravitate towards the tv, but the wii seems to get them going. Timed activities around the house work well: 1 minute to find 5 red things etc

They love timed races up and down the street on their scooters-not sure how much the neighbours love it though!

My favourite thing to do with them is bike to the parks and they play football/go in playground and so on.

I know the secondary school they will go to is hot on competitive sport and I hope they become involved with that. I've shied away from football teams as yet because we like to go out ourselves at weekends and fixtures seem so disruptive: we're happy with the park and swimming at the moment.

Report
BerthaTheBogCleaner · 11/06/2013 18:49

The 8 and 5 yos, yes, easily. Running manically around the playground for 2 playtimes and a lunchbreak. And then a good hour or more of running manically around the house after tea. Or in the garden when it's nice.

Mind you, if the 5yo does too much exercise I'll be following him around saying "just stop and have some sweets/juice/biscuits" - he's diabetic. The trampoline is known as the "Hypo Machine".

The 11yo - hmm, doubt it. She does a lot of walking, a bit of trampolining, school PE, some cycling and swimming. But if you added it all up - maybe 30 minutes a day. More when the weather is nice.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.