A Unique Child: Health & nutrition - Plan of action

Many parents, caregivers and professionals working with children will already be aware of the important role that physical activity plays in a child's development. However, they may be unaware of the amount of physical activity that is recommended for them.

The national guidelines for physical activity were published by the Department of Health in 2011 in the Start Active, Stay Active report. In it, the four chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland drew on global evidence and recommended the following for under-fives:

1. Physical activity should be encouraged from birth, particularly through floor-based play and water-based activities in safe environments.

2. Children of pre-school age who are capable of walking unaided should be physically active daily for at least 180 minutes (three hours) throughout the day.

3. All under-fives should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (restrained or sitting) for extended periods, except time spent sleeping.

At Public Health England, we are committed to helping children reach the recommended targets. Our free Start4Life Information Service for Parents offers ideas and advice to help ensure under-fives reach their 180 minutes of physical activity per day. You can sign up for the free email service at www.nhs.uk/start4life.

The Start Active, Stay Active report also points out the importance of parents and professional interacting with children in a physically active way and encourages shy or reluctant children to play and be active with other children. See www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPoli cyAndGuidance/DH_128209

Breaking down the barriers

The HENRY charity (www.henry.org.uk) is an excellent example of an initiative that was set up to help break down the barriers to increasing levels of physical activity in the under-fives. It has developed a framework for behaviour change which helps parents to gain the confidence, knowledge and tools they need to adopt a healthier and happier family lifestyle.

As well as working with parents, HENRY also delivers responsive packages of support working with health trusts, local authorities, public health departments, voluntary organisations and universities.

Another example to help children get more active is the Street Play campaign run by Play England (www.playengland.org.uk). The vision of the campaign 'is for every child to have the freedom to regularly play actively and independently in front of or near their own front door, contributing to a healthy lifestyle.' It also advocates closing streets for set periods of the day to all cars except those of residents.