Being active is so important for children and young people to be healthy, happy and to develop good habits for life. 

Encouraging our boys to get out there and experience life to its fullest can sometimes be a challenge and the pull of devices and screen time is ever present for many families.

So, what can we do as parents to get them moving?

Firstly, let’s look at the benefits of being active. These can be social, emotional, intellectual and health related.

• a chance to have fun with friends and family
• reduced antisocial behaviour
• stronger cooperation and teamwork skills
• better self-esteem and confidence
• lower anxiety and stress
• better concentration
• healthy growth and development
• strong muscles and bones
• improved fitness, including coordination and movement skills
• lower risk of disease
• lower risk of unhealthy weight gain.

For our kids, it’s important to get the right mix of physical activity, inactivity and sleep every 24 hours. But what does that actually look like?

Moderate to vigorous physical activity. It’s recommended that children and young people do at least 60 minutes each day of moderate to vigorous physical activity that makes their heart beat faster.

It doesn’t have to be a full 60 minutes at once – several shorter sessions through the day work too.

Why not try football, basketball, netball, bike riding, scooter riding, swimming or dancing? These don’t have to be formally organised and finding a friend, neighbour or family member who likes to be active can often help with their motivation.

It’s also recommended that within those 60 minutes of daily activity, children and young people include muscle and bone strengthening activities 3 days per week.

This includes activities like running, climbing, swinging on monkey bars, push-ups and sit-ups, lifting weights or yoga.

Light physical activity. Several hours of light activity each day is a great way to keep kids moving and can often be incidental in their everyday life.

Think about walking to school, walking the dog, going to the park with friends or helping around the house.

Ensuring good sleep is essential to healthy growth and can really make a difference to your son’s ability to get up and enjoy each day.

• children aged 5 to 13 years should try to get 9 to 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep
• young people aged 14 to 17 years should try to get 8 to 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

To establish and maintain healthy sleep patterns, it’s recommended you:

• have a consistent bedtime and wake-up time
• avoid screen time 1 hour before sleep
• keep screens out of the bedroom.

Motivating your son to get off his device and get out there isn’t always easy, but the social, emotional and physical benefits, both short and long term, are worth it.

 

Recommendations from The Australian Government Department of Health

 

Brought to you by Brighton Grammar School

This article is about Understanding Boys, Parenting, Wellbeing