06/01/2006
Today’s children spend 70 per cent less time being physically active per week, than their parents did as children, according to new national research carried out by leading schoolwear supplier, Trutex. Watching television and playing computer / video games are the new preferred exercise, with football, rollerblading, climbing trees and riding bikes relegated to the past.
The national survey of 1,000 parents and children aged between six and fifteen years, shows that today’s children no longer rely on physical activity for entertainment, spending only three hours and 30 minutes per week being active, compared to their parents as children, who spent 11 hours and 35 minutes.
A closer look at the findings show that parents claim to have spent up to five hours per week taking part in organised sporting activities outside school during their childhood, in comparison to their children, who only spend an average of two hours. Indicating that today’s children lead more sedentary lives and are less likely to voluntarily take part in sporting activities.
When it comes to music lessons or academic clubs, once again today’s children fall behind, with parents claiming to have spent on average over three hours per week, which is more than twice the one hour and 15 minutes clocked up by children today.
Although 54 per cent of children walk or cycle somewhere on a daily basis, their parents were more likely to do so, with 66 per cent walking or cycling to school, friends’ houses or after-school activities.
When questioned on how much time spent watching television and playing computer games, children found it difficult to quantify. However, statistics from TGI data show that children spend more than 28 hours in front of the television and over seven hours playing video / computer games per week, a staggering total in excess of 35 hours. In comparison, their parents estimated that they spent just eight hours and 20 minutes watching television and playing computer games per week as children.
Gender plays a key role with girls spending less time taking part in sporting activities out of school than boys, one hour 50 minutes and two hours five minutes respectively. Similarly, their fathers spent more time playing sports than their mothers, 5 hours 20 minutes compared to 4 hours 30 minutes.
Participation in sport is linked to socio economic group, with 81 per cent of AB parents and children playing sport once a week or more compared to 68 per cent of DEs.
Not surprisingly, 84 per cent of parents agree that today’s children are more unfit than they were as children. More worrying though is the fact that 81 per cent of parents believe that children’s fitness levels will continue to decrease more and more in the future.
85 per cent of parents felt that schools should do more to ensure that children keep active. But perhaps a tougher battle is to persuade children to be more active, 44 per cent of parents agreeing that most children think it is more fun to stay indoors, play computer games and watch television than play sport and be active.
Commenting on the survey, Clare Rix, Trutex marketing director said: “Over the last 20 years, children’s fitness levels have plummeted as less walk to school and play outdoors, thanks largely to the allure of computer games and television. The survey goes someway in highlighting the need for increased physical activity amongst our children, bringing their level of fitness to, at the very least, the same as their parents.”
“In an attempt to bridge this gap Trutex is supporting ‘Move It’, a successful pilot scheme in London schools, which encourages children to take part in a variety of sporting activities ranging from basketball to boxercise, rugby to dance aerobics. This will ensure that not only are children experiencing a wider range of sporting discipline, but more importantly they will be participating in regular supervised exercise which will result in significant improvements to their health and ultimately their academic performance in the classroom.”
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