How much exercise do your children get during winter and summer?

[PoppetUK]

Just curious really to see what sort of exercise families / children do. Ours has dipped off a lot over winter. Now the weather has changed I hope we can go for more walks / scoots / cycle rides. I know when we lived in a warmer climate the kids were very active and it was never something I had to think about but I feel I do now (there were other negatives though). During the summer months we always go out for a walk before bathtime, I missed that this winter.

Poppet

p.s what exercise do the kids get in school?

In school DD1 (14) does 3x40 min PE lessons and 2x30 min lunchtime clubs. DD2 (10) does 7x40 min PE lesson, 1x30 min lunchtime club and 1x45 min after school club. Both dance for 2.5 hours on saturdays. DD1 is out and about a lot in summer - walking to friends, bike rides etc - but less so in winter due to the dark. DD2 is less independent yet but does odd dog walk or bike ride with me.

For us, a lot of it is down to the school as limited daylight hours otherwise. But in summer hols we are a pretty active lot.

At least 60-90 minutes a day plus play time. Runs, sports, PE, games, walks, swimming, they get a lot - sometimes too much at the expense of the academics but kids are happy

Sadly, I got far more exercise when I lived in a colder climate than dcs have ever done here on the English South Coast. Partly because of their health problems, partly because British children simply play out less. Limited daylight hours never stopped us in Sweden. But it does seem to stop all ds' friends.

DS 3 x 40 mins a day in school.

Football after school club once a week.

2 tennis lessons a week. Plus dog walking every day.

All the above all year round.

During dry times more football, walks cycle rides and dog walks.

BUT you can tell it had been a sunny weekend cause he is knackered this morning out all weekend and the fresh air has killed him.

sorry 3 x 40mins a week...

ds1 swims 6-7 times a week plus land training twice a week plus games and PE at school plus water polo plus CCF (lots of yomping around the grounds)

ds2 football after school once a week, cricket nets once a week, cycling and occasionally cross-country, but has health problems and gets tired v v easily so can't do as much as he'd like - only one PE lesson at school at the moment cos of SATS

dd swims twice a week, gymnastics once a week, ballet once, games and PE at school plus cycles to school (1.5 miles across the common)

they all go to different schools - ds1's and dd's schools v into sport, ds2's make it a v low priority

cory, just wondering how that worked - I always think its really sad in the middle of winter when dd doesn't get out of school til 3.45, then its dark by 4.30.

Allowing for walking home then having a snack it doesn't leave much outdoor time before dark. Did you just play out in the dark? Or does school finish earlier?

dd plays out for a few hours most days.

We try and walk or cycle to places rather than drive, if it's in a suitable distance for a 5 year old.

She has a swimming lesson once a week. And she was doing gym a couple of nights a week but the one she went to has shut and I haven't found another yet :(

We've been going ice skating once a week recently, too soon to tell if it'll continue as an interest.

DD1 and DS1 do over an hour a day at their prep school, plus swimming,soccer and cross country. DS2 does 1 30min lesson once a week at state school, but then swims for an hour, and plays out most days for about an hour (in the dark in the garden through the winter). In the winter we go out most weekends and go geocaching (its like treasure hunting so kids get fun) and walk about 4-6 miles whilst doing so. DS2 and DD2 also ski for an hour on a Saturday at our local dry ski slope. DD2 probably does the least exercise, but she is only 4 so skis and swims for an hour each and spends most afternoons outside after pre school.

DS is in reception - if he is in late club they play out until its dark. So in winter an hour, summer 2.5 hours. They have 45 mins of protected play time at lunch (eating is separate time), 2 hours of PE a week, and he does ballet, gymnastics and gym club (each is an hour). At weekends he rides for a few hours and runs around at the stables, plus a bit of cycling and general walking/playing

pre-prep: at school 5x pe/games, 1x swimming plus extras (DS2 does judo, dd2 does ballet and riding). out of school ds2 plays football 3hrs/week

prep -6x pe/games 1x swimming. out of school ds1 does cricket 3 hours week in summer only.

Senior - dd1 does rowing training 3x week (6 hours), rowing on the river 2x week (4 hours) plus PE/swimming at school 3x week.

then thy run around like loonies the rest of the time. No body fat on any of em!

Staggered by how much kids are doing at prep schools. DS in yr2 does 2 x 40mins per week in school time not including playing at lunchtime.

Outside school does 1.5 hr tennis, 30min swimming, 1 hr judo as lessons. Walks the dog & plays football in garden most days when light.

16yo dd1: Two four-hour sessions of rowing a week, plus occasional evening training. Plus school PE (1 hr a week)

11yo ds: 7 or 8 hours of rugby a week in winter, 1 or two 1-hour sessions of athletics training all year round, plus school PE (2 lessons a week). In the summer, the rugby is replaced by 4 or 5 hours a week of cricket, plus extra athletics.

7yo dd2: two hours of karate a week (after-school club) plus 1 hour of athletics and 30 mins swimming lesson.

All state schools, though the athletics and rowing are club rather than school activities. All in addition to walking to school (20 mins each way), school PE and general running around.

The main variable is the running around outdoors factor, rather than organised sport. They choose to do all this, btw, I'm not some kind of mad pushy sports parent. They are very active. Just listing it all makes me want a little lie-down.

I reckon the prep schools know what they're at - I know they have longer days anyway, but I'm sure dd would work better if she did PE every day in school (particularly on a wet week when they get kept in at lunchtimes).

My DC swim with school once a fortnight, and do 1-2 hrs of PE a week (2hrs on the week that they don't swim).

DS1 & 2 do an hour of football training one night a week, plus a match on Saturday. This is always outside, the pitch is floodlit so they can train when its dark.

DD does an hour of football training on a Saturday morning, she is too young to play matches yet. She also rides once a fortnight, although at the level she is at that doesn't involve that much physical exertion.

All three go to sports club for an hour one night after school, this is inside during the winter and outside the rest of the year.

They go to after school childcare which often involves physical activity, either sports outside, going to the park, or sports inside.

They also walk or cycle to school every day.

At weekends as well as football matches they spend a lot of time playing out (park, football, on their bikes etc). We usually go for a 2-3 mile walk on a Sunday afternoon, either at the local RSPB reserve, the beach or the forestry centre.

Then there is playtimes at school. Their school is very pro outside play, they have wellies and waterproofs in school and are sent out in all weathers. It isn't uncommon for them to scrap lessons on a sunny afternoon and all go out to play rounders

So I think they get plenty of excercise, whatever the time of year!

My kids don't get as much as other children on here, but bearing in mind we hardly got any when we were children, I think they are much better off than we were!

At school it's PE twice a week and running around at playtime. They only do swimming in the summer as they spend 4 or 5 weeks in Italy at the beach, where there is a pool, swimming lessons, etc....

Then in the winter my DD1 does ballet, the others don't do any sport yet, but they are still little (1, 3 and 4).

My DS1 will probably do football with school in the summer term once a week.

They are all very slim and have a good healthy diet so I guess it's enough at the moment. I think they will probably need more as they grow older though.

It does vary from summer to winter, and we're in the South.

We walk to school when the weather is OK, 20 minutes. If its raining, we drive half, walk half.

PE at school is once a week. DS has football every weekend, DD has ballet every weekend, both during term time. They both swim each week during term time too, DS twice a week, DD once. DS goes to a sports club after school once a week for an hour. ( DS is 7, DD 4).

The big difference in summer and winter is the amount we do at the weekend, eg walking/cycling. Very little in the winter, more in the summer. In summer we often walk back uphill from school, stopping at the park on the way. At school, at lunchtime, DS will play football for the entire 1 hour 15 minutes ( bolts his lunch down in 2 minutes ), unless its wet play in which case he'll come home in a foul mood. DD will also run around a fair bit, playing spies.

DS (8) does cross country running club once a week, cricket club once a week and never sits still - loves playgrounds, which we go to summer and winter several times a week. Does football and running at break and lunch time at school. He doesn't sit watching telly - he pogos up and down in front of it non-stop. He is slim and quite muscly.

DD (4) would sit all day long, loves playgrounds but on arrival sits under the slide in the den and plays imaginative games for hours without using the apparatus or exercising at all. She will walk without much complaint and we do generally go for a walk as a family once a week or so, also likes swimming which we do less often, perhaps once a month. She is perhaps a little too plump for a 4 year old.

We have a averagely active life-style as a family. One child is very active, the other much less so and I do try to encourage her but find it hard to attract her interest.

We are out in the garden more in the summer - DS plays ball and cricket and handstands and cartwheels, DD plays sitting down with her cuddly toys and arranges lessons and food for them!

DD2 is 2 and rarely sits still for five minutes. She doesn't do any organised physical activities though she is due to start 'swimming' classes in a few weeks. She prefers walking and holding on to the buggy now and doesn't spend a lot of time in it.

DD1 (5) does 1/2 hours PE, 1 hour dancing and 1/2 an hour swimming. Walking to and from school (ten minutes each way) every day.

In summer they are in the garden a lot more and spend a good deal of time on the trampoline. Also we go to the park more. In winter DD1 does a lot of dancing of her own accord in the house and DD2 often joins in. I think if she did any more formal classes at the moment she'd be too tired.

I'm not concerned about their levels of activity at the moment but I'd certainly watch it more as they get older if I notice they are spending more time watching TV, on the computer or being generally sedentary.

My DS is older, (11) but he does a lot - 5 hours of games lessons per week at school, plus 2 hour long school sports clubs on an evening.Then anything up to 6 hours at a weekend (plays hockey and cricket), so that depends on if he has matches or training or both.

I think Takver is right, the best thing about his Prep school is the hour long sports lessons each day, they really help all the children to focus better in lessons. They have to do them come rain or shine and only keep the children in at break if it is actually pouring down.

I work in the State system and it's indoor breaks there, even for a bit of drizzle.