To ask what activity your non sporty teens do in the evenings in light of the BBC reported link between inactivity and the rise in teenage depression.

[Gr3yCl3y]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-51475399

15 year old Dd with loads of GCSE homework, not overweight but non sporty and dyspraxic. Keen to make evenings more active. Weekends easier to sort.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-51475399

Sorry link didn’t work.

My 15yo daughter sometimes walks to McDonald's to hang around with friends... they get moved along and go to Morrison's cafe... get moved along go back to McDonald's!

Otherwise she is in, watching Netflix in her PJs - she says this makes her happy.

Does she like riding a bike? Once the days get longer you could go out for bike rides. We have a local Breeze group (which organise bike rides for women) and I think you can go from 13 if your mother/responsible adult is with you. They organise evening rides once a week through the summer. They're free.

Otherwise what about gym classes (obviously not free) if there are some available on a pay as you go basis? She could try a few and see if there's something she likes (and cope with the moves for) - could be spinning or something else that doesn't involve too much coordination.

I wouldn't be too worried during the week because presumably she walks to and from school (or a bus stop/railway station) and is walking around the school grounds too. Maybe get her a fitbit and encourage her to get 7000 steps a day during the week.

I was at an event a couple of weeks ago where they suggested everyone try to get 7000 steps, drink 7 glasses of water and get 7 hours of sleep each day as achievable targets.

This is interesting. Dd is having bad thoughts and anxiety and is trying to move away from her friendship group who are doing things she doesn’t feel comfortable with. I’ve been stressing to her the importance of distraction and filing her head with new material and noise. But she needs a lot of pushing to do it- absolutely no ideas of her own which is draining. Her only ideas are to do little makeovers and scrolling through her phone of course which are quite ‘quiet’ activities and still let thoughts in. She Is not proactive and won’t automatically do a headspace session or suggest exercise or anything, everything has to come from us. She really needs new friends and knows who she’d like to be friends with but is too scared of the backlash of leaving her friendship group.
So things we’ve done with her are cooking, yoga following a YouTube for kids thing, loads of family games, walking the dog, playing with younger sibling, coming shopping with us etc. She’s done a lot of asc before and given them up after a while. I’d take her running but hate it myself.

Mine have a half hour walk each way to school. They don't have a lot of evening activities but if they do they usually walk to those.

Mine play football Sat and Sunday and Train on a Tuesday night - they have a lot of revision/school work (year 11 and 12) - honestly I think it's fine to let them relax in the evenings - their lives are pretty full on!

ps @earlydoors42 are you in the Midlands - sounds just like my kids social life!

Could you get her a pedometer or a garmin? My garmin really makes me walk more.
Can she walk to school?

Do they not do pe at school anymore?

How much sports do students do at schools these days?

DH has two afternoons a week for sports at school which they have to do. He hasn’t much time in the evenings to do much but swims and goes to a MA club at the weekends.

Children and young adults need time away from electronic devices and a bit of exercise.

What about yoga? Or just going for walks?

I think if we just let our children chill and relax we do them a disservice. They need an hour a day moderate exercise. That could be walking a couple of miles to and from school, it could be youth theatre, dance, walking the dog, bringing logs in and cleaning the windows but move they should.

My DD also dyspraxic and other issues enjoys art and computers. Though she is lonely they are lonely activities too.

Mine is in a swimming club once a week and just out with friends 2/3 nights a week- they wander between shops/cafes. When it rains they come here and make up dance routines in her room.

All of her friends have an activity at least once a week- rugby/netball/swimming/gymnastics etc

We walk the dogs as a family frequently too.

We walk a lot so she gets exercise with me.

Is there a local street dance class or something similar that might interest her? or art lessons.
Our local college does evening classes for painting, still life drawing, pottery, languages, wood craft etc

You do realise that it doesn’t mean that every child who doesn’t do sports is going to become depressed right? There’s a link between alcohol consumption and liver disease as well but it doesn’t mean you have to never drink, because the risk is actually really low. Does your child seem to be depressed or at risk of it? That’s the question you need to ask before you start forcing activities on them.

Have you looked at volunteer dog walking? Not sure what age you can sign up to the cinnamon trust?

Karate.
And parkrun at weekends.

A the sporty suggestions don't work with dyspraxia if anything it causes my DD get distress. She neatly broke her neck in gymnastics. She was laughed at in Dance club due to coordination. She can swim self trained with arm bands, I had to remove her from lessons as she has mirrored movements. If she is asked to put out her arm her leg follows, turn out foot her hand follows. It genuinely hurts my heart.

Nearly not neatly.

Quite often go for a walk in the evening with my 12 year old, between 4km - 5km once or twice a week. She does lots of sport at school and one main sport out of school, plus bikes to and from school so her activity level isn't an issue. I mainly do it to stop her wasting every evening on youtube. It's nice to get some fresh air and have a chat for an hour or so away from screens. She seems to like it too.

@BubblyBarbara It doesn't have to be sport or any intense activity, just minimising inactivity like sitting around doing something passive like watching TV or playing with a phone.

It's long been known that lots of inactivity is damaging, more like smoking than drinking.

My dad is not sporty buy she walks 40 minutes each way to college including climbing a very steep hill home. She has singing lessons weekly and practises daily and does a weekly musical theatre class. She does sit at her computer a fair bit at the weekend but does so sitting/bouncing on a yoga ball.

My 18 yo is now at uni but last year she did badminton after school one evening per week for 90 minutes, a violin lesson for an hour on a different day, a music group for 2 hours alternate weeks and 3 45-minute dance lessons per week (ballet, tap & pointe). She had a job for 4 hours on a Sunday which she either walked or cycled to - 3 miles each way. I didn't have any issue with her sitting at a computer and other than Bake Off and The Apprentice, she never watched TV either.

My DC are no longer teens
However at that age, swimming with family or friends was always welcomed
Hanging out with friends in park, walking to shops and cafes (unless appalling weather I wouldn’t drive them around)
DD did a trampoline class
DS liked ice skating and bowling with friends