Active children having fun

Kids and sport go together. Children are naturally active and have lots of energy to burn. Channelling all that energy into a sport will provide them with numerous benefits. Sport teaches them a range of skills like coordination, hand/eye movement, working as a team and working towards a common goal. There's also health benefits associated with sport such as maintaining a healthy weight, improving mental health and active kids grow up to be active adults.

For some kids they're just not into sport which is a shame as they miss out on a lot of learning and fun. If your child needs help getting in to sport, consider the Active Families programme. Active Families is run by Sport Manawatu to get more kids involved in active recreation opportunities. Meeting each week, kids and their parents are involved in activities like touch rugby, walking, capture the flag or sports circuits.

Active families coordinator Sarah Wilson uses fun games to get active. €œMaking exercise fun for the participants is important. They're not even aware they are exercising €“ they're having too much fun, € she says.

Currently they're working on building fitness and stamina leading in to the Manawatu Strider's Super 7 Series next year. Other upcoming activities on the calendar include boxing, martial arts, tennis and orienteering. Ms Wilson has noticed other benefits to activity. €œThere's an increase in confidence where the kids are enjoying playing sport and go on to join school sport's teams. €

Active Families run on Wednesday's at Somerset School from 4:30pm. It's a 12 month programme for inactive kids, their siblings and parents making it a great family activity. To get your child involved, contact Sport Manawatu on (06) 357 5349 or visit our Active Families webpage.