Mumsnet users share with Sainsbury's what would get their children up and active

[EllieMumsnet]

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We all know it’s hard to get our children to keep active, especially during the holidays when sitting inside watching TV and playing computer games seem like the more appealing options. Sainsbury’s wants to get to the bottom of this and understand what barriers parents face during the summer holidays in getting your DCs active and in an ideal world what would it take to help you to get them up and about?

Sainsbury’s says: “We want to understand what challenges you and your family face when keeping active in the holidays. We know there are plenty of reasons, but we’re particularly keen to identify the types of support that would help your kids to get active. Do you want to send your children to a local sports camp, but there isn’t one nearby? Or would you like to see more frequent family park runs happening in your local community? Whatever would help your kids to get up on their feet this summer, we want to know!”

Let us know the barriers you face and any suggestions you have to get your children active on the thread below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £300 Sainsbury’s voucher.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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We're lucky and the cul-de-sac I live in houses my two youngests best friends, and while cars do come in and out, there is always a parent or three who will sit out and read their book and keep an eye on the kids while they scoot on the paths or play hide and seek in the bushes and trees and keeps an eye out. We also have fields and a canal that is right behind our house, so we love going stickleback fishing or frogspawn hunting in the warmer months. In fact, if given the choice, just like me and my brother before them, if they are asked 'Do want to play on the computer, or go Stickleback fishing?' its always the fishing that wins!
Kids only sit on their backsides if their parents let 'em. I was a fat kid, and I won't do that to my own kids lol. xx

A couple of years ago my son and I had had a challenge to visit as many different parks in the summer holidays as we could - I think we managed about 20. We found some lovely ones that we hadn't been to before and some that, despite living so close, we never knew existed.
We may try it again this year.

Alternatively my two love eating outside, so whether we take breakfast, lunch or dinner with us to the park, or just a snack, they get to be out and about.

Barriers we face are;

• weather
• cost

-we have a dog which is hugely helpful as he gives us a routine of getting out each day and a good reason that we need to! Also he helps me motivate us a he does brilliant huffing and fed up faces if it gets to a point in the day when he thinks he should have been out.

• Weather has never been an issue for me as I was always outdoors in all weather's as a child but it does mean you need decent wellies, waterproof trousers/dungarees and coat. itd be great if sainsburys couod sell more outdoorsy stuff for kids like waterproof dungarees or puddle suits. August is usually such a soggy month.

• cost. I'm lucky to live semi rurally but with the financial crisis so many of our local walls now have quite hefty car parking fees attached paying 2-4 pounds for 2 hours each day does make it expensive to get out which is a shame. local outdoor attractions all seem to have increased entry prices too, being able to get discounted entry or parking at country parks through sainsburys woukd help us get out and about more.

Fingers crossed for a lovely summer!

Better facilities within the local area for outdoor based activities that were reasonably priced - Along with some nice weather!

I would make a treasure hunt and leave clues all over the house. They would have to find all the clues in a set time too.

get the kids out helping with gardening chores once clean and tidy they can get the bikes out and ride around a simple but nice bbq in the evening keeps everyone happy !

Two main barriers - technology and age difference. They'd all choose to be indoors playing on phones and XBox, and when we do agree to go out, it's hard to find things which are appealing to three kids aged from 9 to 15.

We do have membership to Historic Scotland which is great for days out, and like doing treasure hunts and similar activities.

Being with friends help, but then the cost soon mount up so it's finding free activities is hard. It's all expensive even a walk in our local woods involve a long drive then the cost of parking etc... it's hard.
Now we have garden I plan on picnic in the garden and maybe little treasure hunt.

Anything involving water!

We are lucky to live by the sea, where there is a common opposite and a big promenade that goes the whole length of the beach, in the warmer weather we walk it and then stop for a picnic on the common and play ball games.

Better weather! They get fed up being indoors, but we're fairly relaxed about letting them play in the rain!

I don't face many barriers but as a family we like being outdoors and doing stuff. There are a few bits that we do to keep active over the summer break though.

I work so while I work DD goes to a holiday club which is multi sports. 8 hours of football tag rugby bouncy castles games dodgeball street dance keeps her busy.

I always get a change for life ten minute shake up pack and that encourages DD to want to do stuff so she can get the stickers for her chart. It's always full of games and ideas to do some exercise.

The local park usually runs an Xplorer event once a week which is through British orienteering. It's a kids map reading activity which when completed we've probs done a 1 / 1.5 mile walk

Then there's the day to day stuff. Walking the dog but a bit longer than we would because the weather is nicer. Going to a park with the scooter/bike

This year we are planning on going on some short camping trips to different parts of the country to get the boys out and about and exploring nature, we also have a fab sports camp near to us where they can go from 8.30 until 5pm but the cost of this does add up at £15 each per day when two of them go.
We will also be taking picnics out and going to local beauty spots for day trips - all weather dependant!

The biggest barrier for me is working full time and my husband and I taking seperate weeks off work to cover childcare. However, when I do take time off, I use tesco vouchers and groupon to go on day trips and spend quality time with my son

There really isn't a great deal of outdoorsy activities where we live, particularly for children. We have lots of soft play places which are great for the winter but in the summer I struggle a bit. We're surrounded by beaches and bike tracks though so that's what we usually do in the summer, picnic included of course.

Organisations such as Adventure Plus are great because they offer lots of indoor and outdoor activities to take part in. You do have to pay, so it would also be great to be able to have locally organised events that us adults can be present at too.

My daughter is only 12 weeks old and it's a struggle to find activities locally that we can both do together.

I'm hoping to join buggy boot camp in the summer which is be a good bonding experience and help me loose some of this excesses baby weight.

So many challenges..
we work full time and come home after dark.. weekends are spent doing chores we don’t have time to do in the week
When we do get out we are limited by the weather.. we live in a very wet cold windy part of the country
We don’t have a car for day trips
We don’t have a garden

We do try to go for walks and have a goal at the end of them, walking to the park or the local Sainsbury’s actually ( about 15 min walk away)

we are lucky to have a forest on our doorstep, the boys love going there and exploring with a picnic afterwards, weather permitting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Water in the garden if it's a lovely day, either in water pistols or a paddling pool. Also, mine help at the stables so they get lots of exercise poo picking the fields (we don't have a horse, they just help). Geocaching is good, as is rock searching / painting (eg Love on the rocks on facebook).

Freedom and fresh air, I live near a couple of parks so is easy to let them out. Usually a treat when they get back then the are so tired they'll slepp straight after

The big thing that gets lots of kids and families out locally in the summer is a Scarecrow Trail.

It's done in aid of raising funds for the church - which is about 800 years old - but a lot of the people that put up scarecrows are just people that live locally and don't go to church (or indeed are from completely different religions).

The church sells a map of the route with notes, a quiz and a voting sheet for different categories of scarecrow and the scarecrows are out for about 10 days.

During that time, the village is crowded with people, most of them walking the routes, sheet in hand. It's lovely - everyone is very sociable, commenting on their favourites, asking if you've seen x or y scarecrows, and just generally smiling and being nice.

The kids love racing between scarecrows, looking at them in detail (and there are some truly amazing creations - full size horses pulling a gun carriage for War Horse when the theme was films, a whole close that turned itself into Oz for the Wizard of Oz - apparently the grown ups had a lot of fun at the planning meetings they had for it too!- a team of minions playing cricket and hundreds more over the years), working out answers to the quiz and more. It's a really nice time to be out and about wandering locally and the dc don't really notice that they're walking as far as they do.

Forgot to say - there are a couple of excellent local blogs that highlight local parks and playgrounds (of which there are plenty including some nice ones being built) and local events which you would probably otherwise not be aware of so could easily miss. Just having these pop up on facebook regularly are good reminders of places to go and things to do that are a bit different which is nice.

The city also has a great Play Association which organises lots of outdoor play sessions throughout the holidays which are all free, and a Parks Trust that run all the local parks, and put on many events, most of which are free or very cheap (often a token pound or two, I suspect because places are limited and it's a way of making sure you get the right number of people turning up rather than being swamped with too many or left stranded with too few).

These sessions are all great on many levels - there are other dc there to play with, other parents there to talk to, there are fun extras like bouncy castles and craft areas to make a trip to the park even more exciting, qualified CRB (or whatever it is now called!) staff to organise games of footie or rounders etc., park rangers to teach about nature and help to develop a lifelong love of being outdoors, as well as creating a sense of achievement when they manage to spot new plants or animals they've learnt about when out and about later on...

All my children do sports of some kind during the year even during the school holidays I even go on holidays that have activities to keep them active

My challenge is the weather. With 3 DC's and two being little it's a chore to get out of the weather is bad. Crossing my fingers for sunshine so we live at the park- picnics, football, rounders etc I love the summer