Campaign to get daily exercise in bursts of ten minutes
Hounslow Council is getting behind a major new campaign this summer to help kids across the borough move more.
Through the 10 Minute Shake Up campaign, Change4Life and Disney aim to bring a little magic to families, with the ambition of getting kids across the country moving for an extra 100 million minutes this summer.
The long summer holidays can be a real struggle for parents. This campaign aims to shake things up and provide helpful tools and inspiration to families.
Cllr Sachin Gupta, cabinet member for public health and leisure at the council, visited Forge Lane Primary School, to see for himself the benefits of getting kids active at the schools Change4Life club. He said:
“Making sure kids stay active and entertained throughout the long summer holidays can be a struggle but this campaign will hopefully make things a little easier.
“The ’10 Minute Shake Up’ campaign offers families a free pack to make things a little easier, with lots of ideas for 10 minute bursts of fun. Having fun and getting active has never been simpler!
“Working with our partners across the borough, we have created a calendar of events and activities taking place so parents can easily find something to get the kids moving this summer.”
Jennifer Banks-Smith, Health Promotion Manager at Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust said:
“Regular physical activity is really important for children’s physiological development, which includes bone and brain development - and it’s vital for kids’ overall health and wellbeing.
“We are pleased to announce our support for the Change4Life ‘10 Minute Shake Up’ campaign, and we’re encouraging local people to sign up for the free pack which will help Hounslow kids to stay healthy, active and entertained over the summer months.”
Those who sign up for 10 Minute Shake Up will receive a free pack containing inspiration, ideas and tools to help kids on their way to achieving their recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day. Packs include a stopwatch for timing 10 minutes of activity, a wall chart, reward stickers and 10 Minute Shake Up Disney character activity cards. There will also be a load of great content online to keep kids inspired over the summer.
In Hounslow, the council are also running a competition to encourage kids to log their activities for a chance to win prizes. The more active they are the more times they can enter!
The campaign aims to help the 4 in 5 children who currently do not achieve the recommended 60 minutes of exercise per day and the 40% who do less than 30 minutes per day, by helping to break it down into 10 minute bursts of fun!
We all know that children need 60 minutes of activity a day and evidence clearly demonstrates the benefits of children achieving 10 minutes or more moderate to vigorous activity, several times a day. This is enough to improve fitness and health overall.
To find out more about what’s on offer across the borough, sign up to the campaign, or take part in the competition, visit www.hounslow.gov.uk/change4life
July 21, 2014