Practitioners urged to advise families on exercise

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) says that everyone who comes into regular contact with children has a role to play in ensuring they exercise for one hour a day, as recommended in Government guidelines.
It says that early years providers should offer daily opportunities for various physical activities and make sure children have access to environments that motivate them to explore, such as adventure playgrounds, parks and fun trails. This would also help children to develop risk awareness and confidence in their ability.
Professor Mike Kelly, public health director of NICE, said, 'It's important that we let children play, and don't let society's aversion to risk stop young people from being physically active.'
The advice adds that local authorities should ensure there are playgrounds and indoor facilities where children can enjoy physical activity in safety, and that local planning problems that prevent children from being active should be identified and resolved.
Issy Cole-Hamilton, head of policy and research at Play England, who helped develop the guidance, said, 'With fewer places where children feel safe to play outside, and ever increasing traffic in residential areas, today's children are becoming less and less active. By providing children and young people with spaces and staffed facilities where they feel safe to play freely with their friends, we are giving them the chance to be more physically active while enjoying the sense of freedom that this offers them.'
Download the guidelines, 'Promoting physical activity for children and young people', at www.nice.org.uk.