Information > Parents
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ParentsParents play a vital role in engaging and retaining their children in physically active lifestyles. Children who grow up in households where being active is a ‘normal’ part of every day life are more likely to explore different movement opportunities from any early age. If they are encouraged to explore their physical environment and experience a wide range of movement experiences as preschoolers they will develop the necessary fundamental movement skills important for participation in more complicated games, sports and other activities as they grow and mature.
Moving in to the primary school years children need encouragement and support from their parents and caregivers to keep trying new things. It is important right up until the teenage years that young people continue to participate in a range of different sports and activities. They need support and encouragement from family members to stay involved and to not specialise in one sport too early. They also need to receive consistent messages from both school and home, and also from the wider community (eg. local sports clubs).
As they move in to the teenage years, where traditionally there is a drop off in participation, young people need even more support to stay engaged. There are a multitude of reasons why they drop out of sport and other activities at this stage but parents still play a hugely important role in encouraging them to “stay and play” for as long as possible. Being a positive role model is critical all the way through your child’s life but as young adults themselves they will start to question your own beliefs and values. If you are not active yourselves it is very difficult to expect them to be active if they are not intrinsically motivated.
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