Physical Activity Guidelines for School-Aged Children 6-17

Get moving as a family!  Teach your little ones how to live an active lifestyle by moving with them.  Use this Healthy Habits Tracker from American Coaching Academy to stay motivated to move!

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) shares the following information with us on physical activity for school-aged children written by Jessie Fudge, M.D., FACSM, Kaiser Permanente Washington.

Recommendations

Kids and teens age 6-17 years of age should perform:

• 60 mins per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity, mostly aerobic
• 3 times a week of muscle-strengthening activities
• 3 times a week of bone-strengthening activities

Activities

Many activities will overlap in categories and free play usually meets all requirements.

Aerobic

• Running
• Biking
• Swimming
• Playing tag

Muscle strengthening

• Gymnastics
• Climbing trees or monkey bars
• Yoga

Bone-strengthening  

• Jump-rope
• Hopscotch
• Tennis
• Basketball

Benefits

• Better bone and heart health
• Healthier weight
• Reduced risk of depression

How to Help Kids Improve 

Not meeting guidelines:

• Gradually increase enjoyable physical activities

Meeting guidelines:

• Maintain and try to increase physical activity

Exceeding guidelines:

• Maintain activity level, but vary activities to reduce overtraining or injury

Learn more about Physical Activity in School-Aged Children from ACSM