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

[AnnMumsnet]

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

[UseHerName]

I'd say averaging out her activity over a year she'd get an hour a day - not sure that she would otherwise. Otherwise it would be an hour a day 5 ish days a week

[LackaDAISYcal]

As a family we try to get out walking at least once onver the weekend for a long walk, or take scooters to the park, or just have a run about on the local playing field but we are not as active as I'd like, mainly due to me having a rheumatological condition with chronic fatigue and aching joints.

Individually:

DD, 6, ballet once a week (45mins), swimming once a week (30mins), walking to and from school, 10mins each way, running around in the playground at least 45mins per day, plus playing in the garden when we get home from school. Indoor PE and outdoor PE once a week for an hour each. I reckon she gets the right amount.

DS1, 11, cycles to school, and goes early so he and his mates muck about in the playground until other parents start to arrive. He does PE twice a week, but other than that not a lot. We cannot get him to go out and play, and he grumbles whenever we have to do something that involves exercise, though he does enjoy the climbing that they do with school.

DS2, 4, runs everywhere, plays in the garden all day Monday and Tuesday when he is at home with me, takes his little balance bike everywhere and is basically never still; even lounging in the house, he is hanging upside down and tapping his feet. The ither three days he goes to school and they ahve a huge outdoor space, with lots of running around space, things to climb on etc etc. He tells me that he "went outside twice today" but what he actually means is that they made him come inside for lunch. He never stops, so I reckon he gets enough.

[allagory]

My 9 year old does the following:-
walk to /from school, clubs etc - 2-3 hours a week
sports clubs - 5 hours a week
school break time - 5 hours a week
at the park / in the garden - 2-3 hours a week

The big problem is in the holidays, in the winter. We have found a multi actvity club for him to go to 1 day a week but it would be better if we could give him 2 hours a day, every day. But we can't balance that with our other commitments (younger son, grandparents looking after him, work etc.)

The clubs all add up to a lot of money, so I am sure a lot of people can't afford it I do think that more could be done to help kids organise their own games. They don't need a coach to be there. They just need an adult to fix a time and a date, then tell everyone else.

Hopefully at 9 he will be old enough to go to the park with his friend this summer.

[katb1973]

I would say on average yes..but this can be weather dependent. We are massive playground goers, they scoot and cycle, swim once a week and play at school but here are still days I feel guilty because we've sat inside and played lego all day....

[Purplehonesty]

Yes ds age 3 is out in the garden every day playing, he us aleays bext door at grandads helping to mow the lawn, picking up grass etc
He swims twice a week, football on a saturday and goes on his trampoline every day it's fine.
At nursery they have half an hour a day playing out in the garden, mini movers and football sessions plus a soft play room. Although he is only there for two and a half hours a day he comes home exhausted!
At weekends we go to the beach, for walks or to the park.
He is also a bit like a dog and needs regular exercise to stop him being like a bouncing bean.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Much more than that most days for dd

She does PE at school twice a week around 40 mins or so plus swimming once a week too

Every day she does stretching and flexibility excercises then

Mondays 30 mins line dancing 45 mind contemporary
Tuesdays 45 mins each of tap, modern & ballet
Thursdays 30 mins of street dance
Friday 1 hour drama with lots of physical activity and 1 hour jazz dance
Saturday 1 hour ballet plus she often goes swimming

[sittinginthesun]

My eldest thrives if he does competitive sport regularly. He sleeps better, is engaged at school, and is generally in a far better mood.

He is aged 9, and reckons he does 10-12 hours a week, not including playing outside at playtime or lunchtime. We are in the middle of tennis season, so he is playing around 6 hours a week, plus football training, swimming and school PE.

DS2 is aged 6, and plays tennis, school multi sports club, swimming and school stuff. Probably 30 mins organised sport per day, plus running around at playtime.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Forgot to say dd hates sport and is very pleased she won't have to do any PE at her new secondary school (instead she gets to do a daily ballet class)

[BreasticlesNTesticles]

DD1 aged 4 definitely as she runs everywhere, and would live on the climbing frame if I let her. Also does gym at school, swimming and ballet.

DD2 has just turned 2 and wanders around aimlessly chatting to herself for hours, moving Peppa Pigs into various compromising positions. She is naturally less active than her sister though.

Bot love playing in the garden and slides.

[tanfastic]

Not sure he does get a full 60 minutes but we walk to school and back and he runs about at playtime for a good thirty minutes or so. Weekends are active

[yetanotherworry]

I'd like to think so. We walk to and fro school and the school encourages lots of activity whilst they're there. Then they all do after school/weekend activities. When its dry they spend lots of time in the garden (e.g. trampolining or climbing trees) on weekends or go for walks/find geocaches.

[GetKnitted]

My son is just 5, and at that age I think 60 minutes of being active is as natural to him as breathing... actually I think it is more like 360 minutes of being active!

[Pics]

I have a 6 yr old and 2 year old.
It depends on the weather - if it is foul outside i do not make them go out, although as the smaller one gets bigger this is easier as she can recognise when she is cold more.

6 yr old - out at scholl almost every day for 30 minutes or more - but not always running around as such, but PE of 20- 30 minutes twice a week and country dancing for 30 minutes once a week. If the weather is good, they are tipped straight into the garden after school, and can be out running around, scootering and trampolining for up to 2 hrs, more at a weekend. They also like a bit of a dance indoors.

I think it is probably not as much as 60 minutes every day though, especially in winter.

Does bouncing on the bed after lights out count?

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

Ds always walks to school so at least 30 minutes walking everyday and he often takes the dog in the garden for a game of football. He also plays on his scooter and swims once a week.

We walk the dog for at least a couple of hours a day on weekends and holidays as he has to do what I do.alone in the week. This usually involves the pair if them belting around like crazy!

[LEMisdisappointed]

I don't know really. It depends what counts.

We walk to school - 15 minutes each way, so thats half an hour. She then, i assume plays a break and dinner time. She has a dance group on monday. Tuesday she does roller hockey for an hour. Wednesday is homework night, but may go and play before coming home from school with other kids - only in summer though. Thursday she helps with an activity after school, not intensively active but active enough. Friday, not much, possible play after school. Saturday pony club, every other sunday horse riding. Then there is going for walks, general play and visiting play parks.

I don't think she gets 60 minutes every single day but i would think over the week she averages over this.

We like to go on bike rides, we are a bit feast or famine on this, she rides a tag along as her balance isnt great, but she does pedal the tag-along.

[LEMisdisappointed]

I wonder how skewed this data is towards those whose children are active? Would you post here if you were couch potatos?

[NorbertDentressangle]

On average I would say that DS exceeds this but he's a 9yo who never sits still, prefers to run rather than walk and is never happier than when he's kicking a football around. In the summer months (well, if you can call it 'summer'!!) he plays out after school and all weekend, plus has swimming and football after school activities.

DD, being a teenager, varies a lot. She has days where you have to prise her off the sofa but other days she'll be out on the trampoline, playing ball games with friends etc. She walks part of the way to school each day (15mins), enjoys PE and does gymnastics once a week. On average she probably does less than 60 mins a day.

[toffeefee]

DD is 6 and she definitely gets at least 60 minutes of active time per day. We walk to school every day then when at school they are very active and have lots of PE time and other outdoor activities. She also swims once a week at school. Outside of school she does 2 dance classes at least per week, another swimming lesson, and on top of this she and DS (age 3) will play outside with the other children on our street for 1-2 hours per day after school where they play chase, ride bikes or scooters, go to the park, go on treasure hunts, climb trees and so on.

I have no worries at all about how active my children are, but I know that we are lucky to live in a place where the children can safely play outside and have a park very near by. Also our school is very pro-active in sports and activity which makes it very easy.

[expatinscotland]

We don't have a garden or a safe place for our children, ages 4 and 7, to play out (a car park and then a 40mph road and no traffic signals at all).

It's very easy to point fingers and accuse parents of wrapping kids in cotton wool, or that they just need to go out and play, but the FACT is that due to high house prices/rents many do not have a play to play outside that is safe.

Mine walk to and from school/nursery, about 3/4 mile each way. The younger one does this four times/day with me 3 days/week as I go to collect the older child in the afternoon. I take him to the park daily or for a walk on top of that.

3 days/week after school the 7-year-old has dance, football or Beavers and both go to football on Saturday and then swimming.

So they do get the recommended time in, but I can see where many don't, particularly if both parents/lone parent has to work full-time and don't have time to do what I am able to do.

[FannyPriceless]

I do honestly feel very lucky that we have a garden big enough for tearing around, and kids that beg to go outside even when the weather is foul. Based on the principle that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing, I never say no unless it really is bedtime!

[ShoeWhore]

It's easier in summer than in winter tbh.

At the moment ds1 does 2 hours PE, 2 hours tennis, 30min swim, 2 hours football each week. Spends a good half hour running around at lunchtime each school day plus morning/afternoon break. Walks to and from school most days (half hour round trip) I think that's about 11hours per week?

My younger two do the same but do 1hr football and tennis and an extra hour of school dance club.

At weekends we often get them on their bikes or go for a walk or they play football in the garden. It does help that where we live is rural and so our lifestyle is by default quite outdoorsy - there's not much else to do!

[FairyPenguin]

Yes I think mine do, especially when it's not cold or wet outside.

We walk to school, there's PE twice a week, DD has swimming, gymnastics, ballet and tap lessons once a week. DS has swimming, gymnastics and rugby lessons once a week. They love going out on their bikes and scooters, set up obstacle courses for each other in the garden, and run around like crazy after school every day.

We walk as much as possible and only take the car when we have to, plus often go for walks at weekends to National Trust places.

They put me to shame actually, if only I could fit in exercise classes myself!

[frazzled74]

mine walk to school and back, 15 min each day plus walking to shops activities etc, do dancing/karate/swimming lessons each week, plus park/beach with scooters once or twice a week . Yes I think that they probably do. Most children that I know also do but i do have a relative whos child has a lift 5 minutes up the road for school as refuses to walk.

[Stickylittlefingers]

Yes, due to several advantages we enjoy:

a) they walk to/from school, we live close enough.
b) we can walk into town and back easily, again it's less than a mile
c) they go to after school sports clubs (this was not possible when I was working)
d) they play a lot in the garden, we are lucky to have a decent sized one

Both DP and I exercise regularly so they think it's a normal part of life.