TIPS – 60: Play every day. Any way.
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Organizations that provide after-school or weekend programs for children can
add physical activity to these programs and classes in a number of creative
ways. Supporting children to lead physically active lifestyles and do at least
60 minutes of physical activity daily helps them grow up to become active,
healthy adults. Here are a few tips for promoting active play and helping
children achieve that 60-minutes-a-day goal.
All About Play
- Use incentives with children, such as fun contests and activity recorders,
for setting and reaching daily physical activity goals (see
www.VERBnow.com
for ideas).
- Integrate physical activity content into other subjects and activities.
For reading, have kids choose books where the characters are being physically
active. For computer time, encourage visits to Web sites that promote physical
activity.
- Create a bulletin board or build a monument with objects used in physical
activities and photographs of the children doing the activities they enjoy.
Use the group’s creation as a motivator for everyone to play actively every
day.
- Have children create a physical activity presentation that lets them
explore the history of a physical activity that they like to do and then
demonstrate it to the group.
Getting Out and About
- Start a community/neighborhood parade in which participants showcase
physical activities while they march and where the stops include local places
to play.
- Stage a physical activity fair where local businesses, organizations, and
physical activity leaders can demonstrate and excite kids about different
types of physical activities and connect them to groups or locations for the
ones they enjoy.
- Organize a map-making activity of free and low-cost physical activity
areas nearby, such as parks and roller rinks, and then take the children out
to these locations to play.
- Involve children in community service activities that give them an
opportunity to move around, such as gardening or maintaining trails.
- Use your city's recreational opportunities by taking groups of children to
local parks, the zoo, public pools or lakes, and playgrounds.
VERBTM is a national campaign of the Department of Health and
Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase
physical activity among children aged 9–13 years. For more information, visit
www.cdc.gov/VERB.
To download additional copies of this tip sheet visit
www.cdc.gov/VERB and click on "Materials."
Back to top ^
You can increase physical activity in your children’s day by making it fun
and participating in activities with your kids. Supporting them to lead an
active lifestyle now with at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily helps
them grow up to become active, healthy adults. Here are a few tips for promoting
active play and reaching that 60-minutes-a-day goal:
At school
- Coach or chaperone a physical activity outside of school.
- Team up with other parents near your home to form “walking school buses” and take
turns walking kids to the bus stop or all the way to school.
- Participate in “Walk to School” Day:
www.walktoschool.org.*
At home
- When your children say they are bored, jump start their bodies and
imaginations by challenging them to combine elements of two games or sports to
create a brand new activity.
- Incorporate physical activities into birthday parties, family gatherings,
and when your kids’ friends come over to play.
- Children should be active after school. All children can find physical
activities they like to do; offer them choices and let them discover their own
interests, but but make sure that active play is part of their day outside of
school.
- Choose activity-oriented gifts such as a jump rope, hiking shoes, or
a fitness club membership. Used sporting goods stores offer some great treasures
for gear at lower prices.
- Turn on music to get bodies moving while indoors and even to liven up
household chores.
In the community
- Learn which sports and activities your kids enjoy doing and locate lessons
or clubs for them. Some children thrive on team sports; others like individual
activities or being active with friends in a noncompetitive way.
- Use your city’s recreational opportunities – from soccer
leagues to “fun runs” to walking tours.
- Involve your children in jobs or community service activities that they
enjoy and that get them moving, such as planting in the local park or helping
neighbors with cleaning, dog walking, or yard work.
- Find outdoor activities through nature groups or hiking clubs, and take
your family on an outing.
On outings or trips
- Instead of touring in an automobile, explore different sights on foot or
on a bike.
- Plan family outings and vacations that involve walking, swimming,
bicycling, or paddling.
60 minutes is the goal
- Only 32% of children in the United States attend physical education classes daily, so kids
need your support and encouragement to be active — especially outside of school
— for 60 minutes a day.
- The lack of physical activity among children contributes to health problems.
Healthy habits must begin early in life — with your help.
VERBTM is a national campaign of the Department of Health and
Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase
physical activity among children aged 9–13 years. For more information, visit
www.cdc.gov/VERB.
To download additional copies of this tip sheet visit
www.cdc.gov/VERB and click on "Materials."
Included are several tips from the American Heart Association's Tips for
Raising Heart-Healthy, Active Children.
Back to top ^
There are a variety of ways that teachers can help children to get more
physical activity into each day. Supporting students to lead physically active
lifestyles and do at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily helps them grow
up to become active, healthy adults. Here are a few tips to reach that goal of
60 minutes a day through active play:
Creative Play
- Have kids track their daily activities, such as by using ideas found on
www.VERBnow.com.
- Use incentives such as fun contests and activity-inspiring prizes (e.g.,
jump ropes) for setting and reaching activity goals.
- Ask students to name a VERB that they would like to try for the first
time, and help them develop a plan to make it happen.
- Ask students to skip every other line as they write out their daily
schedules from morning to bedtime. Then have them go back and find five places
where they can insert a VERB to total 60 minutes or more of physical activity
they enjoy.
- Have students get in groups to invent a new game by combining aspects of
different sports, dances, or games. Then have each group teach the class how
the new activity is done, and do it!
- Generate physical activity ideas for after school, such as being active
with two VERBs that start with the letter “R.”
- Ask students to come up with new “rules” for how to play old games or
sports. For example, set up multiple goals made out of common objects for
soccer or field hockey, such as two plastic garbage cans. Assign different
points for scoring between each of the goals. Use your imagination to make the game
fun!
- Have students create a physical activity skit or play charades that lets
them act out the VERBs they like. Create teams of four or five students and
ask them to make their own list of VERBs to use in the game.
- At the start of class have students take a quick stretch break or do a
VERB. The break helps to rejuvenate the students and is a great opportunity to
learn about different muscles – and VERBs!
- Ask students to bring in an object that reflects their favorite VERB (such
as a ball or running shoe). Have students pair up and exchange “how to”
instructions for their favorite VERB and describe when and where others can
play and do that activity.
- Many cultures have a strong tradition of being active. Ask students to do
some investigative research to uncover ways that different cultural groups
play games, play sports, or live actively, and then present their findings to
the class.
- Have students clip articles and ads that relate to physical activity. Ask
them to glue their clips to boards, creating collages based on themes (by
sport/activity, indoor/outdoor activities, or season, for example). Keep the
collages in your class for display and as reminders to play actively daily.
- Organize a map-making activity of free and low-cost physical activity
areas nearby to share with the students’ families.
- Invite a representative from a local sports group or youth organization to
demonstrate an activity to the class in which students showed an interest.
Have the guest then lead the kids in the activity (e.g. martial arts, dance
moves or dribbling a basketball).
VERBTM is a national campaign of the Department of Health and
Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase
physical activity among children aged 9–13 years. For more information, visit
www.cdc.gov/VERB.
To download additional copies of this tip sheet visit
www.cdc.gov/VERB and click on "Materials."
Back to top ^
* Links to non-Federal organizations are provided
solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any
organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The
CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages
found at these links.
Page last reviewed: August 1, 2007
Page last modified: August 1, 2007
Content source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion, Division of Adolescent and School Health |
