How do you encourage movement and activity in your young children? Share your tips - £200 voucher to be won

[EllieSmumsnet]

We all know how important it is to keep kids active, but did you know that regular physical activity in early childhood is key to supporting their health, development, and confidence? Small bursts of movement throughout the day can help children build important skills, stay healthy, and even improve their focus and mood.

If you’re looking for inspiration, the Youth Sport Trust’s Healthy Movers resources are full of fun, practical ways to add more movement to your child’s daily routine – whether it’s through active play, short exercises, or creative activities that get them up and moving. We’d love to hear from you: How do you encourage your little ones to stay active?

• Post your tips in the thread below to be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky MNer will win a £200 VEX voucher for a store of their choice.

Here is what Youth Sport Trust has to say:

“Did you know fewer than one in five children (ages 0-5) in the UK are moving enough to stay healthy? A lack of movement in childhood can have lifelong implications on brain development and lead to serious health problems later in life, including obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other preventable health issues.

"At the Youth Sport Trust, we have launched a new film to raise awareness of the potential health impacts of a lack of movement in childhood. Starting healthy habits from an early age builds strong bodies, minds, and life skills. We’d love to hear about how you encourage your little ones to stay active or any challenges you face."

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

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I find that watching sport with my daughter helps with peaking her interest as well as creating games in the house doing day to day tasks. Speed tidying, throwing clothes in the wash bin etc. She loves it!

Lots of park trips and soft play!
I also want my children to see their parents exercise. They know that mummy goes to hot yoga every week. And they recently watched their dad ran a 10k and cheered him on from the side lines.

Finding a youtube video to dance along with - there are so many talented content makers out there who aim to entertain children.

Dancing. Just put music on and have a ten min dance. They don't even realise it's exercise

Head shoulders knees and toes ride on toys, and playing treasure hunt type games in the house and garden.

I played Simon Says….

I also on the advice of an OT, devised obstacle courses round the house for one DC in particular, but actually they all loved it. For instance - you have to hop across the lounge, then crawl to the kitchen, hop across the room on one leg, then run to the downstairs toilet. First one there is the winner!

They had to sit on a football for 5 or 10 minutes while they watched tv - this strengthens core muscles, having to continually maintain their balance with slight movements.

DH took all DC from the age of two, to practice ball skills with a football or rugby ball in the park.

We had a whizzer - I don’t know its proper name. It looks like a giant hollow plastic bead, threaded on a very long string, tied in a loop with handles at both ends. By moving the handles, the player can make the giant plastic bead, whizz along the string to the player, holding the handles at the other end. It’s good for strengthening the muscles in the arms and shoulders (upper core strength).

We walk to school every day and go for long walks through the woods. My youngest has a autism and doesn't follow instructions well so when were following the path through the woods he has the freedom to run and explore while being in my line of sight giving him some freedom, we do go to local parks but they can be a bit over whelming so the trampoline in the garden helps provide exercise.

We joined them up for multiple activities that they showed interest in, and they each found their "thing" that they loved, and still do those to this day (now 17 & 16).

In terms of free stuff they loved what we called a muddy walk (in Forest) where we happily let them go in every puddle.

Always enjoyable was a scavenger walk - we'd make lists of things they had to find to tick off - eg a yellow flower, a person wearing red, a piece of litter etc.

Sometimes obstacle courses in garden. Daft stuff like wearing an adult size pair of wellies to cross garden, then take them off, collect waiting spoon and golf ball and cross back, pair up 6 sets of mixed up socks, cross garden on all fours etc. Always fun.

And dancing at home.

Going to the park, outdoor toys in summer - including a trampoline, counting to star jumps, and television programmes which require movement and jumping.

Regular park trips, trampoline and pool in the garden in summer, signing up for the sports after school club. DD is very athletic and will happily trek / cycle round the village, climb trees and run about the park with friends. DS needs a bit more encouragement - he has a VR headset that he plays active games on. We've also recently started going on night walks to look at the stars and for wildlife (we're very rural), which he doesn't see as exercise but I do!

What an easy thread for us - didn't have to think very heard for this one, going to our church playgroup twice a week, watching play along dvd's, an indoor and outdoor trampoline, swimming on Fridays, and running around the garden.

I think that it is about controlling the energy - going to the park with a football or cricket set (I bowl the boys bat and field) songs with actions, bike riding on the quiet roads near us, and around the country park a short drive away, a netted trampoline with balls and playing counting games, in the house hide and seek and a treasure hunt.

Playgroup, running around the park, garden toys, ride on toys, watching exercise videos and jumping and stretching to them, going to the leisure centre for tots activities.

We walk to nursery and school - except in bad weather when I will take the car, we can talk and look at our surroundings when walking places, we go to Eureka childrens museum on a regular basis - it's a fabulous place to run around, expore, role play and have a splendid time.
We have a trampoline in the garden, and a park nearby which we use weather permitting.

We have to drive to school as we live to far to walk, but we park a distance away and walk the last bit. It's much more enjoyable to start the day walking and chatting and the children find it wakes them up. It's also quicker than navigating the car chaos outside school

We are active by going to a playgym, playgroup, going to the park, playing ball games, outdoor ride on toys and a trampoline, and bike riding.

Singing and action songs - head shoulders knees and toes, a trampoline, we go to the sports centre for activities run by the council, and in the summer, park, swimming and the padding pool in the garden - jumping in and out of that.

Make it fun and normal. Make it normal to take the stairs, walk to the shop and go swimming. Make it fun by counting the stairs, spotting all the buses and doing baby classes in the pool

To get rid of energy we bought a pre-loved ningendo wii and games - there are lots of mornings spent running, golfing and bowling - we have a 13 foot netted trampoline for jumping and counting jumps. Plus bike rides and walking the dogs is a fun activity too.

Walking a lot including to school and sledging on the way home from school if there's snow. Lucky that there's a field on the way home so we run around there to let off steam. Doing fun things like playing rounders, walking to the park or beach and having a routine each Sunday afternoon of a longish walk through the woods or to a nature reserve or NT property where there is invariably a good play area and lots to see so kids get engrossed.

I would put music on and dance and jump around the room, go to the park, playgym or swimming - we do all these !

Make it fun..Even if its raining outside we can put wellies on and splash on the garden..or when my toddler wants TV time we can put something like Danny Go on so we can jump about n dance with his videos.

We walk everywhere we can rather than drive, the default is always to walk. We aren't so active in winter but in if the weather's good we walk to the park or scoot and cycle. I think it's important to make it part of everyday life, something you just do without thinking.

We do weekly swimming lessons and also try and make exercise fun, we go for long walks and make dens. We also play games such as badminton in the garden- cheap and fun ans gets the whole family
involved. Sport doesnt have to be structured all the time- exercise can be
chasing around looking for monsters and fairies in the woods or playing tag
in the garden, fun and gets everyone together while being good for them.

We make obstacle courses to run around, dance to brain breaks on the tv, have a family sports day to see who can get the most steps, have a crazy hour where we have indoor snowball fights..(Amazon!) and kitchen discos… we try to walk to school when possible and make up games in the park.. hide and seek with time limits is a good one! They still don’t sleep 🙄