COVID-19’s Impact on Children’s Physical Activity

It’s no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on our children’s physical and mental well-being. During its early stages, families hunkered down, activities and sports were cancelled and we found ourselves balancing work, school and life from home..

ParticipACTION’s Report Card on Physical Activity in Children & Youth found large declines in physical activity levels.

Canadian parents were surveyed on their child’s physical activity during COVID-19 restrictions and the results are telling. Prior to the pandemic, only 15% of children and youth met the Canada 24-hour Movement Guidelines. But during the heart of lockdown last spring, only 4.8% of children ages 5-11 met the guidelines, and there is a gender gap - only 2.8% of girls (compared to 6.5% of boys) were physically active enough. In addition, 62% of kids spent less time outside.

The study also revealed two main factors that lead to having more active children during the pandemic; parental encouragement, and owning a family dog. Now we’re not suggesting we need rush out and get a family dog, but there are some ways to encourage our children to be active during this time when comfort levels vary, restrictions are in place and sport and activity registrations are limited.

✷ Be active as a family and make it a priority - set aside a specific day and time each week when the entire family engages in physical activity together. Let your child(ren) choose the activity - yoga, a dance party, relay races in the backyard or a skipping challenge for example!

✷ Be a role model - each additional 20 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity by a parent is associated with an additional 5 minutes in their child’s daily physical activity.

✷ Prioritize active transportation - ditch the car for short commutes and walk, bike or even scoot!

✷ Participate - bring out your inner child and participate in outdoor games with your child(ren) - play tag or soccer, grab a frisbee or get your child to teach you their favorite phys-ed game.

With the warmer spring weather comes more opportunity to get outside and positively support healthy movement behaviours. Make it fun and keep it positive - let’s get moving!