Nursery World - Health campaign says young children should have three hours activity a day

‘Every movement counts’ is the motto of a new Department of Health campaign to encourage children aged under five to be physically active for at least three hours a day.

Alarming statistics show only one in 10 children aged two to four is active for the minimum recommended amount of time.

The UK’s chief medical officers (CMOs) first published recommendations for physical activity in 2011, but still very few children are active enough, a fact that has inspired the publicity drive and information graphic (below) aimed at parents and early years professionals.

The list of suggested activities would appear to cover most things besides sitting watching television, with crawling, walking, ‘tummy time’ and messy play featuring.

The premise is that ‘active children are healthy, happy, school ready and sleep better’.

Linda Baston-Pitt, a member of the expert group set up to help the UK CMOs to develop the infographic, said, ‘Currently, only nine per cent of children aged two to four meet the guidelines, and 84 per cent are active for less than an hour a day.

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