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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The weather, the price, the distance, and having age appropriate activities for little ones are all prohibitive. Trips to the beach are a winner if the weather is good though!

well I can't drive but are very lucky to have the metro so we can get to most places and have lots of parks and a adventure park and country park and the beach near us so as long as the weather is good we can get out and about loads really but i am going to try learn to drive this year as sometimes they are places I would like to go but just to much of a hassle on public transport. We just tend to head out and do our own thing as often we would like to meet up with friends but due to work or family commitments people are so busy so I do think organised summer fun activities are good fun and a good chance for children to play together me and my little boy are both a bit shy so i make a effort to look out for lots of fun things we can go to.

Mainly it is the weather and the time. Our holidays are always centred round the great outdoors, we take bikes and walking equipment. We also keen on surfing and kayaking too! Luckily most of the time the kids love it but I do have one daughter who would prefer to stay in her bed on her ipad. That proves tricky but with a bit of encouragement (and bribery) we can usually get her to take part and then she loves it!!

The weather is probably our biggest hindrance too, Altho thankfully we have puddle suits and wellies so can get out for walks even if it's drizzling. It would be great if parks maybe had weekly activity sessions that you could go along too. Our local sure start centre ran one in summer a few years ago and it was great, the kids did some crafts and singing, played some ball games and then ran around the park for ages afterwards. Alas no funding for such things anymore and the local surestart is about the close, but something like that would be fab.

Sending him to the holiday club where they have lots of activities that will get him moving.

We are also going on holiday to Wales so we will go on some long walks - him and his dad like geocaching which encourages him to do the walking!

The weather is the obvious barrier. Our kids go to a sports camp in the summer which is at their school and they love it, they're outside rain or shine and come home pooped in the evenings. It keeps them active and busy but also introduces lots of new skills if they have a go at archery or croquet for instance.

My oldest is very active and would never come indoors if I let them. The youngest would happily spend all day on the sofa and neither of them are old enough to be left unsupervised for long, so I struggle with keeping them both happy

The other thing is organised activities for a range of ages, thongs are usuallyonly suitable for oneof my kids

Day trips to the woods/parks with friends tends to be the key for us. My dc will bicker and whine when they are with me but I’m they’ll happily play all day with their friends. Weather can make a difference but as long as they have appropriate clothing on for the conditions I don’t allow that to stop our plans.

We are lucky enough to have good parks and nice outdoor space near us. One barrier is that my toddler is very fair-skinned but is getting to an age where they will NOT keep a hat on, so I do worry about sun exposure even if they’re covered up otherwise.

It's time that's the barrier! DS (10) is active and sporty and would love to spend all summer outdoors, but unfortunately I have to work, so really the priority for the summer holidays are covering childcare! I am very lucky though that there is a really good football camp nearby that DS loves and it's not too expensive so he'll be booked in there for at least some of the time. However, it only runs up to age 11 so next summer will be the last holiday we can use it.
I suspect I may struggle when he's in secondary school as holiday provision seems sparse and expensive! It's likely that he'll have to spend lots of time with grandparents, or left to his own devices and hope that he's still motivated enough to go to the park for a kickabout with mates rather than spending lots of time in front of the TV...

We walk and take trains most places, and children jump and skip along and bounce around the platform and will do as much gymnastics on the poles on a train as I will let them do (ie only if no-one is sitting nearby). Lots of going to the shop and stopping in at the playground.
Also Pokemon Go and any other form of treasure hunt.

Dd likes being on the move constantly and any game except football, but ds would sit on the sofa for the rest of his life given half a chance. But both of them love new playgrounds so we often go to a new bit of London and try a new one (often near a museum or similar...), and then they will spend a couple hours climbing.

Our only barrier is that the DC all like different things, mainly due to their ages. But, usually they are out every day, when the weather is nice, they are happiest outside. (I'm usually more desperate for a seat in front of the telly than them! )

my eldest doesn't like going out sometimes but we try to make days out with friends and family, take bikes, football, scooters etc or play Pokemon go to encourage him out. Once we are out he loves it though

Finding things that interest both and suit both age ranges.

The weather! Lack of indoor activities that don't cost the earth (i.e. Trampoline park costs £10 per child for 30 minutes, climbing walls cost £15 per child per hour, swimming is relatively cheap but local pool wants 1 adult per under 8 child, so this summer I'll finally be able to take both swimming when DH is at work).

Lack of car parking near parks etc.

What stops us is a combination of me and their dad needing to work - often at different times - and us as a family not being able to afford some activities.

We do go for long walks when possible (often seizing the moment when we’re free and weather is decent; sometimes with Pokemon Go) and their dad takes them cycling occasionally. We’d love to do more but it’s an issue with time really.

Scottish summer rain doesn’t help either! We love the beach in most weathers, but we rarely have an uncomplicated sunny beach day

So yeah, if Sainsbury’s could organise some summertime cloud-bursting, that would be excellent

The lure of the screens is too strong for mine. Even when I do manage to coax them outside, they can't wait to get back to their gadgets. The only exception to this is when we go and stay in my friend's caravan in Scotland. There's no TV, no internet, not even any phone signal. We make fires and cook marshmallows and play games and sing and talk and fight and eat and laugh. They barely even miss their screens. Makes me quite sad because I know I'm to blame.

Good weather certainly helps. If it's a sunny day it's far easier to get out into the country than if it's pouring down or grey.

Barriers to organised events would be the cost. With two kids and often their friends to pay for it's just not doable.
Discounts for a 5 week course aren't good value for the summer holidays for us as it's when we'll have weekends away or have visitors.

Sunshine really does make all the difference. Going to a NT garden, beach or the woods is so much more palatable when it's warm and dry.

Sports activities aimed at young teens would get my DS up and out.

So many activities are aimed at the younger children or, if all ages, tend to only have children up to the age of 10 or 11 attending. 13 year olds often hate being at something where they're the only older one there.

If it were a sports activity for 12+ that would be great

I think there’s far too much emphasis on more challenging, competitive sports, eg running, sports clubs when we would prefer more advice on doing more movement across a whole day as our children a very small. Something like a guided walk with regular breaks at, say, a playground, a picnic spot, a place with a great view, revealing the hidden gems of the area so that you don’t have to be fit in the first place to take part and there’s the social aspect of talking whilst you walk.

We put up a camping awning in the back garden to provide shade from the sun and pop the paddling pool under it. We had 3 under 4 last year and this stopped us stressing so much about burning skin.

Balance bikes to the park.

Always have football and a frisby in the car.

I work part time so it'd be nice if more of the summer camps had options for just doing a couple of days in a week without the dc feel like they're missing out (often it's a 5 day thing finishing up with a big 'thing' on the friday).

Also DD1 did 2 camps last summer. They were good but not very convenient location wise.

Some camps take childcare vouchers, some don't - obviously that more that take vouchers the better!

We're lucky in that we have a big park near us but there's definitely a lack of toilet facilities which can put you off staying too long !

What I really like is the street we live on - it's very quiet and there's a few other children of a similar age. In summer they all get together to play - football, tig, hopscotch and drawing with chalks were favourites last year.

This is our first summer when I'll be working, so it's going to be a challenge to fit in lots of fun and juggle it with my part-time job. They are hopefully going to a local holiday club that isn't overly sporty but will still do outdoors activities. My youngest is too young to go to the local sports camps, and I want to keep them together.

We usually draw up a sunny day list with splash parks etc., on it. They love to take picnics along and make a day of it.

I've registered them for Junior Parkrun and they are really excited about the idea, first we need to get them some trainers and the weather needs to pick up. Like me, they are fair weather runners!