Exercise

Active Archie

Kia Ora,

I’m Active Archie!

Getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity, moving, and trying new ways to be active is important for your wellbeing. You don’t have to be good at sports – there are heaps of ways for everyone to be active and have fun.

Exercise helps you:

  • Stay healthy

  • Have a healthy weight
  • Feel energised
  • Get stronger muscles and joints
  • Develop and maintain a healthy heart and lungs
  • Build confidence
  • Improve your sleep

  • Be more relaxed and less stressed

Click on these ideas

Walking school bus

Take a walking school bus to school! Meet up with your friends and travel together. An easy way to meet this challenge every day.

Make & fly a kite

Tick off two challenges at once! Make a kite and fly it to square off your stretch your mind challenge AND your physical activity challenge!

Choose a game from Funattic

Play one of these outdoor games www.funattic.com

Geocaching

Go exploring! See if your family will go on a nature walk, or join the world’s largest treasure-hunting community and find out about geocaching! (SmartPhone app)

Kapa Haka

Practice your Kapa Haka moves.

Bike ride

Go for a bike ride! (Are there any hills nearby you could go up?)

Swimming

Go for a swim! Inside, outside, whatever works.

Play sports

Play sport: netball, rugby, tennis, hockey—whatever floats your boat!

Want more ideas?

2-in1 activities

General activities
Get two challenges ticked off at once!

Physical activity + help someone

  • Wash the car
  • Hang out the washing
  • Clean some of the house, inside and out
  • Mow the lawn
  • Tidy the garden
  • Vegetable gardening
  • Choose a game from this website
  • Walk, bike, skateboard or scoot to a friend’s house
  • Play at your local playground
  • Kilikiti or backyard cricket
  • Use the stairs whenever you can
  • Walk the dog
  • Play Pokemon Go
  • Play jumprope
  • Capture the flag
  • Hopscotch
  • Red Light Green Light
  • Simon says
 

Physical activity + stretch your mind

  • Find an activity in your city
  • Learn to ride a bike
  • Learn to throw a ball
Healthy Heroes

Exercise

Parent Information

Children and young people should do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day.

Sixty minutes a day will help your child:

  • Develop strong muscles, bones and joints
  • Move with balance and flexibility
  • Develop and maintain a healthy heart and lungs
  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Build self-confidence and social skills

Exercise

How you can help

  • Swimming, cycling, kapa haka, touch rugby, and kilikiti will raise their heart rate and get oxygen pumping round their bodies.
  • Skipping, jumping, and using climbing or park equipment will build muscle and bone strength.
  • Bending and stretching will keep them flexible.

Physical activity is any movement of the body that uses energy.

Aim for lots of moderate and some vigorous activities

Look for ways to encourage activity

Encourage children and young people to look for opportunities to move throughout their day,

eg, walking or biking to school, taking the stairs not the escalator. Encourage them to try new activities or sports and to discover which ones they most enjoy. Support these interests. Give feedback and praise.

Do activities as a family. Turn off the TV for active playtime. Involve everyone in deciding what to do.

Movement is important from birth – helping young children to be active will help their learning and development. Encourage play that helps build fundamental skills such as running, jumping and skipping, balance, landing and turning, and throwing and catching.

Make sure your child:

  • wears appropriate clothing and footwear
  • wears sunscreen for outdoor activities in summer
  • has the right safety gear and wears it correctly
  • knows about and practises footpath and road safety.

If you have concerns about your child’s health or physical activity, talk to your doctor or nurse.

Related resources

Additional information

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HealthInfo

Information sourced from HealthEd February 2021. For more information about keeping kids active, see HealthInfo – Ideas for keeping kids active

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