Keep your kids active this summer

How much exercise do kids need?
Kids and teens need 90 minutes of physical activity a day for optimal growth and development, according to Canada's Physical Activity Guides for Children and Youth. They can accumulate these 90 minutes in at least five- to 10-minute chunks throughout the day.

Stats on kids' activity
• More than half of Canadian children and youth aged five to 17 are not active enough for optimal growth and development, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

• Girls are less active than boys, and teens are less active than younger kids.

• Only 38 per cent of girls and 48 per cent of boys get enough physical activity for optimal growth and development. Just 30 per cent of teen girls and 40 per cent of teen boys are active enough to be healthy.

Safety tips
Follow these safety rules from Safe Kids Canada for an active but injury-free summer.

Around water
• Ensure that backyard pools are surrounded on ALL sides with four-feet fencing that has a self-latching, self-closing gate.
• Supervise children closely, keeping younger ones (those under five) within arm's reach.

At the playground
• Find playgrounds that have deep soft surfacing, such as wood chips, pea gravel or sand; it is less likely to cause injuries.
• Restrict younger kids to equipment that is five feet high or less and within arm's reach.

On a bike or other wheels
• Ensure everyone (and that includes you) wears the appropriate gear, including a properly fitted bike helmet.
• Keep kids under 10 off roads used by cars.

Around the neighbourhood
• Accompany kids under nine when crossing streets.

Toys
Great toys can get kids moving. Celebrate the beginning of summer with a fresh supply of some old standbys: balls of all kinds, skipping ropes, Frisbees, pails and shovels, or anything from Nerf, which makes a range of toys including foam balls and shooting toys with foam darts. Leigh Poirier, the executive director of the Canadian Toy Testing Council, also has these picks for inexpensive toys (most are between $10 to $30) that are sure to get your kids off the couch.

• Saturnian I active toys, which have new twists on old children's games, including Fling Socks (a ball on the end of an elasticized strap) and Hip Hopscotch (a mat and throwing discs in their own carrying case)

• Cranium “Giggle Gear” such as a tiara and other fairy gear, and galactic communicators to encourage imaginary active games, such as fairy flitting and spaceship takeovers. And Cranium Super Forts and Super Sportstation, a package of material to build forts, soccer nets and equipment for kids' own made-up games

• Wild Planet's Spy Gear line up for playing secret agent (just another version of hide-and-seek)

• Crayola Outdoor Chalk for playing hopscotch or just crawling around the sidewalk creating murals

• Water Cannon Geyser Gusher, a cone that uses kid power to spray water from a pool or lake up to eight metres (by pulling the cone through the water, pressure builds up to create the spray)

• Marshmallow Shooter for -- what else -- shooting mini-marshmallows at each other

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