Be a role model for your kids by being physically active yourself—and with them. Active parents have active kids!

Make sure your kids spend as much time as possible outdoors all year round.

Reduce your kids’ screen time. Screen time can take away from active time.

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Being a Role Model

If you are active, your children will be active. Children see their parents being active and just naturally follow along. If you struggle with being active yourself, you can still help your children be more active by

• signing them up for activities that match their interests and that they enjoy;
• encouraging them to try new activities and watching them participate;
• praising their participation and successes;
  • taking them to parks and playgrounds—places where families can play together;
• planning regular active family time (swimming, biking, going for a walk, walking the dog);
• choosing gifts that make kids move, e.g., balls, bicycles, skates, or kites;
• keeping a box in the trunk of the car that holds balls, a Frisbee, kite, jump rope, sand pail, and shovel (you’ll always be ready for fun!);
• balancing organized time with free time.

Playing Outside

Play is the way children learn. Children love to play. When they play outside, they are more active. With lots of space and fresh air, children are free to leap, run, shout, swing, and climb. Outdoor play is a way to learn active skills and get better at throwing, catching, kicking, and jumping. When kids feel good about their abilities, they are more likely to want to be active.

Think back to your childhood. Some of your fondest childhood memories might be of playing outside—swinging at the park, playing ball with your friends, skipping rope at recess, or playing hide and seek in your neighbourhood.

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Reducing Screen Time

Today, TV, DVDs, videos, and computer games are part of our children’s lives. This screen time can become a problem when it takes time away from children being active.

Canada’s Physical Activity Guides for Children and Youth ask parents to limit the amount of time their kids spend watching TV and playing video games. The Guides suggest that children and teens be moderately active at least 90 minutes every day.

Screen time should be limited to no more than two hours a day to make time for active play. When your children’s friends are over, encourage them to play actively rather than watching TV or playing video games.

Producing Active Kids

Today’s children need to be more active because they spend a lot of time in cars, day care, classrooms, and in front of TVs. As a parent, you shape your children’s physical activity habits as they grow up. Be active yourself, find activities that your family enjoys, and play outside.

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Learn More

Active Families
Looking for family activities, including games, sports, and outdoor activities? This website offers lots of ideas for different age groups for every month of the year.

Be an Active Role Model for Your Children
Here are some tips on how to be an active role model for your children and how to fit active living into your family routines.

Families on the Move
Get ideas to help keep your children and young teens be active in winter and summer, at birthday parties, and on cold and rainy days.

Games to Play with Your Children
Child & Family Canada suggests exercises and games to play with your children at different ages and stages:
First two years;
Two-, three-, and four-year-old children;
Five- and six-year-old children.

Kids’ Games
Do you remember skipping to the rhyme, “Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around”? At this site, you can review familiar games from your childhood and decide which ones you might want to pass on to the next generation.

20 Ways to Live Outside the Box
Check out 20 ideas to keep your kids active in this Healthy Active School Communities resource (on page 8 of the PDF). Ask your school how it is using this resource.