OSCAR Foundation keeps Kiwi kids active

4 November 2005

OSCAR Foundation keeps Kiwi kids active

While the recent Lincoln University study shows children are getting less exercise than recommended health guidelines, the OSCAR Foundation has taken the initiative and is ensuring up to 11,500 children get active at their out of school programmes each day.

More and more young New Zealanders, aged between 5 and 14 years, are spending their out of school hours at before school, after school and school holiday programmes. To ensure that these children are exposed to regular positive physical activity and provided with healthy options the OSCAR Foundation has developed the successful “Go Kids!” programme.

With a growing number of children participating in sedentary activities in their out of school time, more opportunities need to be provided for them to participate in physical activity.

The experience is positive and fun and the focus of “Go Kids!” is to provide information, advice, support, training and encouragement to ensure OSCAR children are offered these fun opportunities to participate successfully in physical activity.

The project, developed in partnership with Coca-Cola, provides activity ideas and opportunities for children to develop skills, learn co-operation and teamwork, and to have fun while participating in regular physical activity. The “Go Kids!” website, www.gokids.org.nz, provides information, activities, recipes, games and competitions for caregivers, parents and children.

The activity modules were developed in consultation with SPARC and have proved extremely popular with 750 OSCAR programmes around the country accessing the resource. This has lead to an average of 11 500 children being exposed to the “Go Kids!” programme per day.

OSCAR Foundation Chief Executive, Murray Upton believes the project can make a positive contribution to keeping Kiwi kids fit and healthy.

“An active child will develop both physically and mentally and will benefit in the classroom, the playground and eventually on the sports field. Ultimately it will encourage them to lead a healthy active lifestyle. We believe that OSCAR providers, parents/caregivers and the community all have a role to play in this,” he said.

ENDS

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