Super-Mums: Empowering Mothers to Shape Active Futures for Their Children
- Vitality Fitness and Rehab
- Mar 11, 2024
- 4 min read
One of the first classes we taught was rightly named ‘Super-mums’ because mothers are, without a doubt, superheroes. But, does a mother's fitness have an influence on their child’s activity levels?
According to the National Health Survey, nearly ⅔ of the adult U.K population are classified as obese or overweight. Surprisingly, 10.1% of reception age children (age 4-5) were classified as obese in 2021/22, with a further 12.1% being deemed as overweight. At age 10-11 (year 6), 23.4% were obese and 14.3% overweight. This data is gathered as part of the National Child Measurement Programme and published by NHS Digital.
Obesity among children has increased overtime but why?
It should be recognised that some parents opt out of having their child weighed in earlier years.
Inadequate physical activity and excessive sedentary time are the primary causes of overweight and obesity in preschool children. Increasing preschool children’s physical activity, particularly the level of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, can improve issues with overweight, obesity, cardiopulmonary function and bone density. In addition, increasing moderate to vigorous physical activity can promote cognitive development in preschool children and youth, improving their overall academic performance. With this being considered, promoting physical activity may benefit preschool children and youth both physically and mentally.
Environmental factors seem to affect the behaviors and habits of preschool children including their likelihood of engaging in moderate to vigorous activity. Their home environment seems to be the earliest and strongest influence, having a lasting effect on a child's activity levels.
A preschool child’s activity level has a strong correlation with that of their parents. According to a 2018 research paper, children with two active parents are 5.8 times more likely to be active than children with two inactive parents.
It also seems that the mothers influence has more power to set the pace or not set the pace of their child's activity levels:
A quote from a 2014 study from the University of Cambridge - “For every minute of moderate-to-vigorous activity a mother engaged in, her child was more likely to engage in 10% more of the same level of activity. If a mother was one hour less sedentary per day, her child may have spent 10 minutes less sedentary per day. Such small minute-by-minute differences may therefore represent a non-trivial amount of activity over the course of a week, month and year.”
Something worth mentioning is the factors that cannot be measured with accurate statistics. The primary caregiver which at the time of writing this is still predominately mums experience many emotional and physical feelings that can contribute to their ability to partake in regular exercise. Things such as baby blues, post natal depression, general emotional and physical fatigue from looking after children as well as many other factors such as sleep deprivation all have a huge impact on ones ability to engage in physical activity. It should also be recognised that these individuals are often time-poor and therefore the capacity of which they can exercise is restricted.
As previously mentioned, mothers are superheroes with already way too much on their plate but if they are the key in raising a generation of active kids what can we do to best support them in doing so?
Here are 8 activities that can be done for little to no money or even free!
Join a Parent Child Exercise Class: A fantastic way for both parent and child to get active, release some endorphins and have some fun!
Going on Nature Walks or Hikes: Explore local parks or nature trails together, encouraging physical activity while enjoying the outdoors.
Family Bike Ride: Take a family bike ride around the neighborhood or visit a nearby bike trail for a fun and active outing.
Back Garden Obstacle Course: Create a mini obstacle course in the back garden using household items like hula hoops, cones, and jump ropes for a playful and active challenge.
Yoga For Kids: There are plenty of free online resources available for parent child yoga lessons.
Swimming: Swimming has always been a fantastic full body exercise that children tend to absolutely love!
Mini Olympics: Setting up different mini Olympic events in the back garden or local park can be a great way to encourage activity and some healthy competition in the family.
Scavenger hunt: Create a scavenger hunt around the local park. This activity combines physical activity with problem-solving and exploration.
Another underrated activity with benefits is simply going for a walk that lasts 30 minutes or more. Getting outdoors for this time has shown to improve mood and contributes to the government recommended 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous activity.
In Conclusion, in a context where the primary caregiver holds the greatest sway over their child's physical activity levels, it is crucial to lend support to this often time-strapped and weary parent. By providing assistance and resources, we aim to empower them to actively participate in physical activities with their children.
Here at Vitality Rehab and Fitness we believe everyone should exercise, old, young, female, male, fit, unfit, mums, dads and we are here to empower those individuals to exercise not insult those who do not.
We’d love to hear your feedback on this blog at info@vitalityrehabfit.co.uk.
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