Physical activity is natural and essential for the healthy growth and development of babies and children. It's good for their bodies and their minds.
Infants and children need daily physical activity because it:
- supports brain development
- builds strong muscles, joints and bones
- improves coordination, balance and flexibility
- helps them reach and keep a healthy weight
- increases relaxation and improves sleep
- increases confidence, happiness and their social skills
- helps them learn better at school
Physical activity also leads to a healthy heart and lungs, and can prevent overweight and obesity and diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer in later life.
Your child can get enough exercise with every day, unstructured activities such as walking, running, jumping, chasing about, riding bikes, climbing trees or using playground equipment. Encourage them to move more and sit less.
Sports and structured exercise
As your child reaches school age, they may do more structured exercise, such as dancing or yoga, or try modified sports such as NetSetGO netball and Auskick football.
Many children find sport fun. They learn new physical skills, enjoy working in a team, and learn the thrill of winning and how to bounce back from defeat.
However, not all children enjoy or have the physical skills needed for particular sports. Support your kids by encouraging them to practise and overcome difficulties. It’s okay if your children dislike sport. Help them find an activity they relish: anything from judo to skateboarding.
How much activity do kids need?
The Australian Department of Health’s Physical activity guidelines for children recommend that:
- From birth to 1 year, babies should have some physical activity, especially supervised floor play in a safe environment. While awake, infants should not be restrained or kept inactive for more than an hour.
- Toddlers and children aged 1 to 5 years should be physically active for at least 3 hours a day.
- Children aged 5 to 17 years should do at least 1 hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day, and should participate in activities that strengthen their muscles and bones at least 3 days a week.
Limit TV and screen play
The Department of Health recommends that children under 2 should not watch television or use electronic media. For older children, limit the time spent looking at television, playing with tablets or other digital devices to:
- less than 1 hour a day for children aged 2 to 5 years
- less than 2 hours a day for children aged 5 to 17 years
What parents can do to get kids more active
- Be physically active yourself. You are your child’s most important role model.
- Encourage children to explore and play outdoors, alone or with friends. If you don’t have a backyard, take them to a suitable place such as a park or beach. Young children should never be left unsupervised in public and remember to teach your child about talking to strangers.
- Allow kids to help with simple tasks, such as hanging up washing or weeding the garden.
- Walk younger children to school or let older ones ride a bike, rather than driving them or using public transport. Teach them about road safety along the way.
- Exercise with your children and plan daily activities.
- Encourage kids to exercise by supplying equipment such as skipping ropes and balls, or improvise with things such as an obstacle course of cardboard boxes.
It’s recommended that kids younger than two years of age* shouldn’t spend any time watching television or using other electronic media (TV/DVDs, computer and other electronic games).
For children aged 2-5 years of age*, sitting and watching television, and using other electronic media (DVDs, computer and other electronic games) should be no more than one hour per day.
For children/young people aged 5-17 years**, limit sedentary recreational screen time to no more than 2 hours per day.
Ways you can limit screen time
It could be challenging limiting the kids’ screen time but these tips may help.
- Set family rules about the maximum time on screens per day and stick to it
- Try not to leave the TV on in the background – use music instead
- Designate certain days as screen-free days (this could be one or two days during the week when they have other after school activities)
- Encourage children to be selective about what they watch rather than just whatever happens to be on
- Have a "no screen" policy during meal times
- Avoid having screens in bedrooms or study/quiet areas
- You could use a timer or alarm clock to enforce the screen time you set
- Try not to spend lots of time in front of a screen, or let the kids see you spending lots of time in front of a screen
- Wherever possible, choose non-screen-based activities and entertainment
- If you’re an early childhood education and care service or school, develop a policy which identifies the amount of time children spend engaging in sedentary small screen activities
Page last updated on: 17 Sep 2019
Being physically active every day is important for the healthy growth and development of babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. For this age group, activity of any intensity should be encouraged, including light activity and more energetic physical activity. Babies should be encouraged to be active throughout the day, every day, in a variety of ways, including crawling. If they're not yet crawling, encourage them to be physically active by reaching and grasping, pulling and pushing, moving their head, body and limbs during daily routines, and during supervised floor play. Try to include at least 30 minutes of tummy time spread throughout the day when they're awake. Once babies can move around, encourage them to be as active as possible in a safe and supervised play environment. For more ideas, see how to keep your baby or toddler active. Toddlers should be physically active every day for at least 180 minutes (3 hours). The more the better. This should be spread throughout the day, including playing outdoors. The 180 minutes can include light activity such as standing up, moving around, rolling and playing, as well as more energetic activity like skipping, hopping, running and jumping. Active play, such as using a climbing frame, riding a bike, playing in water, chasing games and ball games, is the best way for this age group to get moving.
Pre-schoolers should spend at least 180 minutes (3 hours) a day doing a variety of physical activities spread throughout the day, including active and outdoor play. The more the better.
The 180 minutes should include at least 60 minutes (1 hour) of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity.
Children under 5 should not be inactive for long periods, except when they're asleep. Watching TV, travelling by car, bus or train, or being strapped into a buggy for long periods are not good for a child's health and development.
All children under 5 who are overweight can improve their health by meeting the activity guidelines, even if their weight does not change. To achieve and maintain a healthy weight, they may need to do additional activity and make dietary changes.
Find out what you can do if your child is overweight.
All movement counts. The more the better.
- tummy time
- playing with blocks and other objects
- messy play
- jumping
- walking
- dancing
- swimming
- playground activities
- climbing
- skipping
- active play, like hide and seek
- throwing and catching
- scooting
- riding a bike
- outdoor activities
GOV.UK has more information, plus physical activity infographics for every age group.
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Page last reviewed: 1 June 2022
Next review due: 1 June 2025