There’s no hiding it: Singaporean kids need to get active more regularly. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) recommends that children above 6 have at least 180 minutes of daily physical activity of any intensity spread throughout the day, and many kids don't get quite enough.
Ask them why and they have ready reasons: it’s too hot, it’s too tiring, it’s too much effort, it’s not fun.
Parents, you can now tell them to lay all those well-versed excuses to rest. We’ve got this handy list of 6 super fun activities that will get your little ones out of their air-conditioned rooms before you can say “Fill your water bottles!”
1. Join a structured sports programme
There’s a sport for everyone to enjoy. Whether it is a team sport like football, basketball, or hockey, or an individual sport like badminton, tennis or athletics, get your child to try a variety of sports to see what he likes. Sports programmes typically have training sessions that last between 1 to 3 hours 2 to 3 times a week, so it’s a great way to kick-start your child’s fun fitness journey!
2. Learn a new cool skill
Roller-blading, ice-skating, kayaking, K-pop dance, skate-boarding, paddle-boarding, wake-boarding, archery or rock-climbing sound cool and they’re super fun to boot. Your kids will definitely be ready and raring to go if they can look forward to learning any of these skills!
3. Train for an organised event
There’s much joy to be found in working towards a common goal as a family, and training for organised sports events definitely falls in this category! Having a tangible event to prepare for will make all the hours of running to train feel meaningful. That feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction your child will feel from completing her first 650m dash or 5km run will buoy her interest levels up for a long time, and hopefully kick-start the beginning of a happy fitness journey.
4. Get sweaty indoors
Vary up your physical activity time with indoor sports like badminton and table tennis, classes like zumba or dance or kickboxing, or even good old kampung games like chapteh, hopscotch or Pepsi-Cola. Perfect for when the sun is blazing outside but you still want to keep fit. There're many community facilities you can book and play at these days, as well as a huge variety of classes available for children of all ages, so there’s no longer any reason to not get moving and sweaty!
5. Keep moving while playing video games
Make screen time active time too, with games that force you to keep moving your body! These fitness games can be so fun that junior won't even realise she's working out while playing the game. From dance work outs to boxing to even a Role-Playing Game (RPG) where players have to jog, row and swing through quests, these games are not your average sit-down games for couch potatoes.
6. Make it a family bonding affair
Rack up those fitness hours on the weekend as a family, and make the precious time count. Instead of hitting the air-conditioned malls to beat the heat, choose to cycle, take a long walk at a new park, or check out a novel experience like a hydrodash course, a trampoline park or even an axe room for older kids. There are plenty of options to choose from these days, with new activities sprouting up every few months!