New research has revealed that 80 per cent of parents with kids aged 5-18 say their children do less than the recommended 60 minutes of exercise per day.
96 per cent of parents surveyed consider physical activity important for the overall development of children, and 72 per cent agree that kids should start to be physically active before their fourth birthday. However, a number of barriers were raised; ‘cost’ was citied as the biggest barrier to their kids being more active, along with ‘laziness’ (26 per cent), ‘lack of time’ (25 per cent) and ‘lack of facilities in the local area’ (16 per cent).
The research was commissioned on behalf of TomTom, as part of its Be Active programme launch. TomTom is also supporting Kids Run Free, a charity that organises fun running activities for children in local parks and schools, to help promote active lifestyle habits from a young age. “The long-term health benefits of being active from an early age are well-known,” said Corinne Vigreux, co-founder of TomTom. “Research also shows that the more physically active children are, the better they do academically. So, we are committed to helping this worthy cause grow and expand across the UK to help get more kids moving and have fun doing it.”
Martine Verweij, founder of Kids Run Free, said; “Having TomTom as a national sponsor is an amazing opportunity for us. Together we will bring more running events to children across the country, either in their local communities or directly into their schools, giving them more opportunity to engage with sport and physical activity on a regular basis. We want children to learn that sport is fun, and help them to become happier, healthier and more confident children, and take this into their adult lives.”