Children Need Greater Amounts of Physical Activity
Why daily movement matters more than ever for your child’s health, learning, mood and future
If you are raising, teaching or supporting children, one of the most important things you can do is help make movement part of everyday life. The latest guidance across Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and the World Health Organization all point in the same direction: children and young people need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day, plus regular vigorous, muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activity across the week. They also need less time sitting for long stretches, and in Australia the guidance is even broader, looking at the full 24-hour picture of movement, sitting, screen time and sleep. You can read the Australian physical activity guidelines for children and young people here.
That matters because 60 minutes is not a “sporty kid” target. It is the basic health target. It is the floor, not the ceiling. In Australia, children and young people are also encouraged to get several hours of light physical activity each day, and official guidance makes it clear that the 60 minutes does not have to happen all at once. Shorter bursts through the day still count. The Australian guidelines also explain that daily movement can be built up across the day in shorter blocks.
What you should take away straight away
Your child does not need to become an athlete to benefit from movement. Your child needs a day that includes walking, playing, running, climbing, riding, dancing, PE, active travel, outdoor time, less prolonged sitting, and enough sleep. That is what modern guidance now supports: more movement spread across the day, not just one short block of exercise and then hours of sitting. Australian guidance recommends the right mix of physical activity, inactivity and sleep across each 24-hour period.
Why children need more movement, not more sitting
When you help a child move more, you are not just helping with weight or fitness. You are supporting stronger bones and muscles, better heart and metabolic health, better body composition, and better overall fitness. You are also helping with brain health, including memory, thinking and academic performance. Current guidance also links regular physical activity with improved mental health, better emotional regulation, and lower symptoms of depression in school-aged children. The CDC outlines the health, cognitive and emotional benefits of physical activity for children and adolescents.
That means movement is not a side issue. It is part of how children grow, learn and feel. If you want a child to be more alert, sleep better, cope better, and build healthier habits for later life, daily movement deserves a bigger place in the day than it usually gets. You can explore the evidence on youth physical activity benefits through the CDC’s physical activity guidance.
What counts as physical activity for your child
A lot more counts than you might think. Physical activity does not have to mean formal sport, paid programs or one long workout. Official guidance includes active play, walking, bike riding, scootering, swimming, dancing, PE, playground time, running, skipping, climbing and active travel. Muscle- and bone-strengthening activities can include things like jumping, push-ups, monkey bars, yoga, squats, climbing and running. The Australian guidelines include examples of moderate, vigorous, muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activities for children and young people.
That is good news for you, because it means you do not need a perfect program. You need a more active routine. A walk to school counts. A game in the yard counts. Riding to the park counts. Dancing in the lounge room counts. Time on the monkey bars counts. Even when an activity looks simple, it still helps build the kind of movement habits children need. Official guidance makes it clear that many everyday activities can contribute to your child’s daily movement target.
Why 60 minutes should not be your whole target
If you only focus on “getting 60 minutes done,” you can miss the bigger picture. Australia’s guidance says children and young people should get at least 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity, but also several hours of light physical activity. It also says long periods of sitting should be broken up, recreational screen time should be limited to no more than 2 hours a day, and healthy sleep matters too. WHO also emphasises that all activity counts and sedentary time should be limited. The Australian 24-hour movement guidance says children need daily moderate to vigorous activity, several hours of light activity, less sitting, limited recreational screen time and enough sleep.
So the goal is not to squeeze one hour of exercise into an otherwise inactive day. The goal is to build a day that feels naturally active. That is a much more realistic way to help children stay healthy, especially when school, homework, devices and travel all compete for time. WHO also supports the idea that children benefit from more movement and less sedentary time across the full day.
What a more active day can look like for your child
A more active day can start before school with a walk, scooter ride, bike ride or even 10 minutes of active play before leaving the house. During school, it can include PE, recess, lunchtime play, classroom movement breaks and active learning. After school, it can look like a trip to the park, backyard games, swimming, dancing, sport, walking the dog, or simply getting outside and moving instead of sitting for the whole afternoon. In the evening, it can be a family walk, helping around the house, or any simple activity that gets the body moving again before bed. This kind of spread-out approach matches current guidance that activity can be built up across the day rather than done in one continuous block. Current physical activity guidelines support building movement into the day in smaller, achievable blocks.
The biggest win for you is not finding one magic activity. It is protecting movement from being crowded out. That means treating movement like a normal part of the day, not something that only happens if there is spare time left over. You can see this reflected in public health guidance that promotes routine daily activity rather than relying only on structured exercise.
If your child does not like sport, do not make sport the only answer
Some children love organised sport. Some do not. That does not mean they are lazy or inactive by nature. It usually means they need a different doorway into movement. Playing with friends, trampolining, riding, dancing, walking the dog, martial arts, skateboarding, climbing, swimming, circuits, games and active chores can all help a child become more active. Official guidance across countries supports variety, age-appropriate activities and enjoyable movement, not one narrow model of exercise. The guidelines encourage a wide variety of age-appropriate activities so children can find movement they enjoy.
If you can make movement feel fun, social, varied and achievable, you will usually get a better result than pushing a child into activities they dread. Enjoyment matters because children are far more likely to keep doing what feels rewarding, manageable and part of normal life. Evidence-based guidance also recognises that sustainable physical activity habits are easier to build when movement feels enjoyable and realistic.
Why schools still matter so much
If you work in a school, or you care about what schools prioritise, this is worth remembering: schools are in a unique position to help children reach the recommended 60 minutes or more of daily activity. PE, recess, classroom movement and school culture all matter because they shape how much movement children get in a large part of their day. The idea that movement steals from learning is too simplistic. Current guidance highlights benefits for cognition, academic performance and mental health, which means physical activity supports the school day rather than competing with it. The CDC highlights how physical activity can support learning, mental health and overall development in children.
A quick look at the US, UK and Australia
If you want the short version, the three countries are closely aligned. In the United States, children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 are advised to get 60 minutes or more of physical activity every day, with vigorous activity and muscle- and bone-strengthening activity on at least 3 days each week. You can read the US physical activity guidelines for children and adolescents here.
In the United Kingdom, children and young people aged 5 to 18 are advised to build up an average of at least 60 minutes a day across the week and reduce inactivity. You can read the UK physical activity guidelines for children and young people here.
In Australia, children and young people aged 5 to 17 are advised to get at least 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity, several hours of light activity, muscle- and bone-strengthening activities at least 3 days a week, limited recreational screen time, and sufficient sleep. You can read the Australian physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines for children and young people here.
So while the wording changes slightly, the message is consistent: children need daily movement, regular vigorous effort, less sitting, and routines that make activity a normal part of life. Across the US, UK and Australia, the core message is consistent: children need more movement every day.
Common questions you may be asking
Does the 60 minutes have to happen all at once?
No. Current Australian guidance says the 60 minutes can be made up of shorter bursts across the day, and UK guidance also encourages activity to be spread throughout the day. Both the Australian and UK guidelines explain that children can build their activity up across the day.
Does walking count?
Yes. Brisk walking can help build moderate activity, and easy walking still matters as part of the wider goal of getting several hours of light movement across the day. Walking to school, walking the dog and active travel are all included in current guidance examples. Official guidelines include walking and active travel as meaningful ways for children to move more.
What about screens?
Screens are one of the biggest reasons movement gets pushed aside. Australian guidance says recreational sedentary screen time should be limited to no more than 2 hours a day, not including schoolwork, and prolonged sitting should be broken up as often as possible. WHO also recommends limiting sedentary time. Australia’s 24-hour movement guidelines outline recommended screen time limits for school-aged children.
Does sleep belong in this conversation?
Yes. Australia’s 24-hour movement guidance treats sleep as part of the same health picture. Children aged 5 to 13 should get 9 to 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night, and young people aged 14 to 17 should get 8 to 10 hours. The Australian 24-hour movement guidelines also provide recommended sleep ranges for children and teenagers.
The bottom line for you
If you want to do one thing that helps a child’s body, brain, mood and future health, make daily movement easier, more normal and harder to miss. Aim beyond the idea of “exercise” and build a day that includes play, walking, active travel, PE, outdoor time, less sitting and enough sleep. Children do not just need one workout. They need a lifestyle that gives movement more room to happen. That is the real message behind today’s guidelines, and it is just as important now as ever. You can explore the full Australian guidance on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children and young people here.