Children are meant to complete 60 minutes of physical activity a day however not even half of the child population do this. This is quite shocking and clearly something needs o change.

They are systems like PE (Physical Education) already in place to help increase exercise in children, however is this enough?

The PLAY (Promoting Lifestyle Activity for Youth) program, which encourages the accumulation of 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily beyond school time and during regular school hours outside of PE classes, has been shown to increase the physical activity levels of children, especially girls. Children can increase their physical activity levels in many other ways during school and nonschool hours, including active transportation, unorganized outdoor free play, personal fitness and recreational activities, and organized sports. Parents of children in organized sports should be encouraged to stimulate their children to be physically active on days when they are not participating in these sports and not rely solely on the sports to provide all their away-from-school physical activity. This should include participation in physical activities with the entire family. Communities designed with green spaces and biking trails help provide families the means to enjoy such active lifestyles.

Although there are already ideas set in place to help increase physical activity in children, I believe that my idea will work well and also give the motivation needed to complete more exercise.