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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Challenges for me are 1) Trying to find activities which involve children of different ages 2)Cost 3)Weather....disappointed children if the activity cannot take place. 4)Activities which are local and do not involve a lengthy drive

The weather is a big factor, but I think the parks near to us aren't the best as they don't have many picnic benches, or covered areas, also the play things are a bit too big for my middle boy so it doesn't quite work for all.

My family when I was a kid were really outdoorsy.. and I'm the same with my kids. We surf, ski, run, cycle.. and we do it in any weather. In the rain we're out in the street scooting (my girls are 5 and 2)..

We cycle and the 2 year old goes on the back of daddy's bike.. and we go into the garden every afternoon- saves the house from being a state!!

Then if it's sunny, we go to the beach- even for an evening. We walk, take it in turns to surf..
basically. We are outdoors. It's the best way to live!

Lack of variety is often a barrier.
We re lucky that we have several places nearby we could go to. We utilise the parks and woods and take bikes. Sometimes we take a frisbee or tennis rackets. On a windy day, we ll fly kites and get the water guns on a hot day.
We often arrange to meet friends at a park so that’s always fun for the kids.

Visiting farms, parks with animals (ducks, geese, squirrels etc) and beaches are my little boys favourite places to go!

I think I was the main barrier to my children spending more time outside in the summer holidays. They would often ask if we could cycle to the park, or go to the playground - but I was often too busy or too tired to take them. My parents lived in a lovely village with a stream running through it and my children would happily spend all day, every day fishing, paddling and playing in the water if there was someone to go with them.

Time & weather!!

That is lack of time (juggling job / study / house / hubby / children/ etc)... and lack of decent weather (as most of the country were recently for example we were snowed in for 4 days!!).

The DC do actually want & enjoy being active though so we do whenever we can.

Sometimes it's not knowing what is going on locally which is the barrier. I have found out about activities sometimes by word of mouth which I would never have known about. Cost is another issue. Advertising and low costs would be fab.

For us it’s mainly lack of a garden. We get out most days to parks etc but obviously there is a certain amount of time we have to be at home, and it’s difficult to be very active in a small flat!

I have 4 children and do not drive so have to walk everywhere during the week. We can use the car at the weekends when my partner is off work and can drive us around.
I am weary of using local green spaces due to large groups of teenage children hanging around. I feel uncomfortable as I need to feel safe and be able to keep an eye on all 4 children. It's frustrating when they use the smaller children play areas too.
The amount of dog poo really puts me off too. People let their dogs off lead and do not always clean up after them.
The weather plays a part in where we can go too. We can wrap up warm but the cold, wet weather c an be off-putting.
If there were somewhere where my children can go (at an affordable price), with different clubs for different ages, with walking distance and the weather couldn't affect it then I would be happy to look into it.

The opportunity to try new things and get outside, to explore and enjoy!

DH and I both work, so ds goes to sports clubs in the holidays. Its harder now he'll be 12 this summer as the childcare camps finish, but he's going to do a sailing qualification one week (we'll cycle to and from there), do standup paddleboarding and kayaking at a local youth centre (walks to and from), and is also going to learn to windsurf courtesy of our neighbour who is a tutor

More summer camps that you can attend for days at a time, rather than signing up for a whole week or summer

My kids are computer geeks and xbox addicts, so it's hard to get them outside. They always come outside if I get the paddling pool out. But we love to do things like Go-Ape, or canoe in our local river. Also, my kids never sit down if we go to the beach, they love to explore and be active there!

The biggest barriers for me are time, safety and age appropriate activities

I find that they are much happier playing outside or being active if we are doing it with them, they aren't as reluctant to start and they are happier to keep going for longer. The issue is that there are jobs to be done so I can't always give them my full attention.

I also worry about safety of them playing outside, playing with friends etc. I would be much happier dropping them off at a planned activity where they could see friends but be supervised by adults at the same time

Lastly, it's hard finding activities that suit the age range of my DC, something that the youngest is capable of doing and the oldest doesn't find too babyish. I try to make it teams, with 3 DC that means someone else joining in, so that the youngest isn't at a disadvantage, or non-competitive

The barriers for me are the costs and my health , and getting the children to agree to something that interests them both,. As I suffer from a disability that effects my mobility and that I get tired fast I have to really plan in advance and go for it, I often have to have an easy day the day before and plan a rest day the day after , so I can really push and let them have a normal day out like a day trip to the zoo, which they both agree they like. On days I have to work I get them into clubs, it essentially means I am working for nothing but they get the company and the structure of a fun active day, even if I can get some help with the childcare for free at home from my sister, I feel that the club really adds an extra element to there holiday that I would struggle to do .

I rent a small flat with my 9yr old daughter, no garden either. So I do love the hopefully good weather Summer finally brings. I'm city suburb but live in a city with lots of great parks and countryside a short drive away, my local park is a short walk too. I tend to do picnic and take scooter, or walk around park/its play area, to get active with my girl. It's also a value day out compared to costs of indoor activities during bad weather. Local events would be a help, something laid on by Councils, etc. We do have a play day with bouncy castles, etc which certainly lets off some steam. I don't do the camps/Summer clubs due to costs I'm afraid.

I have a six year old who likes the familiar so he is happy to go out in the garden or to the local park but other than that it needs to be something really special. Things like theme parks always appeal and he loves tree clambering! He’s not into team activities but we did have a day at a sports festival a couple of years ago where there were individual pursuits you could try (climbing, one on one hockey, basketball etc). That was interesting and I think he’d like this sort of thing more as he gets older

My children are very active, they love running around parks, wildlife "hunts" for deer and insects and exploring new places, playing football or trampolining in the garden to name a few. The biggest barrier I find to encourage even more activity is finding a suitable outdoors activity club/event that caters for both my 4 year old and my 7 year old. All the ones local to me are split into age ranges 3-5 and 6-8 so my children cannot participate together in the same group at the same time.

We bought DS a FitBit and it really works in getting him up and moving. He loves downloading his steps and we are quite competitive as a family.

My children have a large age gap between them and 2 are sporty and 1 is definitely not.
My difficulties are trying to find a sports camp or something active for 2 and something else to suit the other. Ideally a college campus or such like with a wide range of facilities would be ideal.

So many of the more affordable holiday clubs are part time only, which doesn't help full time workers. Which limits the clubs I can use for dd. Fortunately the one I use has a very active ethos, although I wish they had better and more frequent access to outdoor space.
When dd is off school and I'm not working, we make use of local parks aquadrome etc. And the council's Park rangers organise some excellent walks, photography courses, butterfly hunts etc.

Cost is often a factor for us - it’s eaiser in the sunshine when you can go to the park for free, but entry to softplay/day trip locations on rainy days puts me off so we do end up more cooped up & not exercising.

I have a dd aged 14, she tends to want screen time rather than exercise but last Summer the council arranged a local free taster afternoon in our village to try different activities. I booked her on it and was impressed by how much she enjoyed it.

Plan to take the kids out more than stay in doors. Regular visits to local parks and lakes. Organise get togethers with friends and family who have children the similar age and arrange trips to bowling, cinema and soft play area