How do you get your kids to exercise in the summer holidays

[Applesandblueberries]

Dc11 and DC8 are pretty active term time what with walking to school, dance and swimming classes. But in the holidays they turn into couch potatoes and are very reluctant to do any exercise. The park is boring, hate walks, bored of the garden!
I occasionally manage to take them swimming or days out but that's about it.

How do you keep your DC of a similar age active? (Without spending lots of money!)

Trampoline and we spend a lot of time at the local loch, swimming and paddle boarding. Always other kids around so it feels quite social too.

Bike rides with a picnic lunch or promise of ice-cream on the way home.

Day out at a local "farm/ activity park". May not be low cost but they will certainly be on their feet for a few hours.

Den building in the local woods.

I provide lots of Snacks on the walk they aren't able to get at home. Like chips, crisps, ice cream. DH barely remembers water, but has a simple "Get out once a day for at least an hour & I won't police how much TV you watch while at home" rule.

Yeah I don't let them use ipads or anything until we've been active. Sometimes its a home disco or floor is lava, sometimes its a walk round the village or park or whatever. I think once they have screens they get all couch potatoey (i do it too!)

The 11 year old I'd send out with his/her friends.

The 8 year old is young enough that they have to go with you when you go out, so go out for a walk or go for a swim or a bike ride.

Usual extra curricular sports continue during holidays here

Also, summer camps. There are camps for almost every sport.

I’ve just been thinking about this as my DD aged 7 has broken her arm so we haven’t done the usual park/soft play/trampoline park/bike rides this summer. We've been to plenty or museums and local walks by the river ect but I feel she hasn’t been active enough!

Pokémon Go. Amazing to get them out and walking.

Local swimming pool does a huge inflatable session in the school holidays - sort of like It’s a Knock Out style - so much fun and exhausting!

Beach trips? Can be surprisingly active if on feet all afternoon jumping waves, digging holes, playing frisbe etc.

What about sticking a YouTube video on together - yoga or plenty of different workouts. Try some calesthenics together for fun.

Would they play each other at badminton in the garden or tennis at the park etc?

Don’t badge it as exercise!

Our local health spa does a really affordable kids membership which we sign our almost 10 year olds up to each July. We have been swimming there almost 20 times this summer which they have really enjoyed. I’ve also enrolled them in some summer sports clubs and their swimming clubs has also held a few sessions over the holidays. Mine love a trip to the park and a bike ride still.

Beach, pool, dog walking, geocaching.

Doing stuff all together, and making it a competition of who can cycle the furthest, swim the fastest etc. We try and always take/go with friends too.

My kids are the same age. We walk the dogs, go to trampoline parks on really hot days, and they like to play football and basketball at home. We’re also lucky to have a swimming pool, so they pretty much swim daily in summer. Also, they did two weeks of summer camp at the beginning of school holidays (we’re in the US) so lots of canoeing, ropes courses, games etc.

Don’t worry—they still get two hours of iPad time at the end of the day!

You all sound so sporty and active and put us to shame!
We had a beach holiday in late July and that was good being on the beach/in the sea etc. But all gone to pot after that!
Thanks for all the ideas - they sound good but I know the kids will moan about doing them - I will have to toughen up I think. As they are both getting v lethargic.
Camps/extra curricular stuff is tricky as oldest DS has some special needs that make it hard for him to easily attend new activities like this.

Chippy hike (walk to the chip shop)
Penny hike (flip a coin to decide whether to turn left or right)

Love chippy walk! May have to steal this 😆

We take them climbing, biking, swimming and hikes at the weekends. I'm also showing them some basic weightlifting as well.

Geocaching is good, just download the app and see what's nearby and hunt down the 'treasure'.

My 11yr old is off out with his friends on his bike a lot, or to swimming. He just takes a packed lunch, drink and some money and is gone most of the day.

We also do a bit of sports camps and outdoor swimming and paddleboarding.

Also the bribe of walking for chips or ice cream, not the healthiest but it get us all out of the house for a while.

Some weeks we do more than others, some very active and others we hardly do anything. The kids will usually complain before we go but have fun once we are there.

DCs usual sports clubs still run in the holidays, so they have been continuing to attend those (DC1 does Karate, and 3 swim sessions pw, DC2 has gymnastics and 2 swim sessions). We have also done park trips, splash parks, walks, a trip to the seaside with some sea swimming, fun swims (ie not lessons/club swimming) inc a trip to a pool with flumes. We have a trip to an aquatic inflatable thing booked (think Total Wipeout), and will be in the water park most days next week when on holiday. We camped for a long weekend and took their bikes, so DCs spent a lot of time cycling around the site. At home I limit screen time, and once that's done DCs tend to gravitate towards either the climbing frame or paddling pool in the garden. If there is water, DCs want to be in it, so most of their activities have been based on that.
I would usually take them either trampolining or to an indoor inflatable park over the hols too, but we've run out of time.

We have to use holiday clubs due to working so picked one at the outdoor pursuits centre. DD spends all day kayaking, climbing, doing bushcraft, archery, bell boating. I actually feel a bit jealous hearing about her day most days 😂 Compared to sitting at a computer on Teams calls I'd much rather boat down the river to pick blackberries and wild apples, boil up the blackberries to make a syrup and dip apples in it, or go crayfishing, or make fires and roast marshmallows.

Walking to school, dance and swimming doesn't sound hugely active during term time so I'd maybe look at just general activity levels because that might be the problem. Maybe try to up normal activity and treat summer as more as a rest. In summer we have sports camp, swimming lessons and tennis lessons which are all paid for but apart from swimming are all childcare too. We walk, go to the beach, do running races, play swingball and tennis, play catch, play out on the street, ride bikes, ride skateboards, bodyboard and surf, kayak, do climbing walls, geocache.

Trampoline, swimming and bike riding. They keep up their usual horse riding.

We are just back from a couple of weeks holiday and both have lost weight because of all the swimming. Want to keep on top of it.

My siblings and I can get our kids interested in the park if we take them all together. I get a catch up with my sisters and the kids can spend hours running and climbing round the park with their cousins.

Chippy hike

🌞😃 Brilliant