Children and Youth
Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines
For optimal health benefits for children and youth between the ages of 5 to 17 years old, physical activity levels should be high, and sedentary behaviour levels should be low, with sufficient sleep each day1. A healthy 24-hour day includes:
Sweat (moderate to vigorous physical activity):
- An accumulation of at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity involving a variety of aerobic activities. Vigorous physical activities, and muscle and bone strengthening activities should each be incorporated at least three times per week.
Step (light physical activity):
- Several hours of a variety of structured and unstructured light physical activity.
Sleep:
- Uninterrupted 9 to 11 hours of sleep per night for those aged 5 to 13 years, and 8 to 10 hours per night for those aged 14 to 17 years, with consistent bed and wake-up times.
Sit (sedentary behaviour):
- Less than 2 hours per day of recreational screen time.
- Limited sitting for extended periods.
Physical Literacy
Physical literacy is the development of skills, confidence, and love of movement that allows a child to be physically active for life. Physical literacy begins when parents encourage movement from infancy.
Tips for being active with your child or teenager
children (aged 5 to 11 years) and youth (aged 12 to 17 years) get many health benefits from engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. This is when your heart rate is raised to the point where you feel ‘out of breath’ and begin to sweat a little, or a lot depending on the level of intensity. The older your child gets, the more moderate to vigorous physical activity they need, such as skipping, running, cycling, swimming, or sports. When the whole family gets involved in physical activity together, it can motivate kids to be more physically active. Explore activities that your family can enjoy together:
- Take your kids to the park and let them play on the playground structures
- Organize a game of tag, play catch, or toss a frisbee around
- Build and compete in an outdoor or indoor (if space allows) obstacle course
- Check out local trails to walk or hike
- Go swimming at a local community pool
- Explore your neighbourhood together by walking, cycling, or running
- Ask kids to help out with outdoor activities like raking leaves or shoveling snow
- Put on music and freestyle dance
- follow along to a free fitness video together or complete your own fitness circuit.
Resources:
- Kingston Gets Active - A community coalition that works together to help you find ways to get physically active every day.
- Active for Life KidActive App - The free KidActive app gives you dozens of games and activities to develop your kids' physical literacy and tracks your child's development
- ParticipACTION - Get news, tips and tools to achieve your Better.
- Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth - An integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep.