Fun requires competition when children choose leisure activities

Only two in ten children in Sweden are active enough to enjoy good health both now and in the long term. The reasons for sedentary behaviour are of course different for different children, but for many, movement is synonymous with sport and sport is synonymous with competition. We adults need to show that movement can take many forms and ensure that there is fun movement that suits even those who are not attracted by competition,” says Pelle Möller, CEO of JumpYard.

In the survey commissioned by JumpYard, eight out of ten parents cite “fun” as one of the three most important factors when choosing leisure activities for their children. Only one in ten said “competing”. This points in the same direction as the report released by Ungdomsbarometern together with the Swedish Sports Confederation in the spring. According to this report, as many as 60 per cent of the 15-24 year olds surveyed stated that one of the most important reasons for exercising is “having fun”.

Having fun is an important part of being a child, and it increases the chances of children actually getting active. “Organised sport does a fantastic job, but we also see that there are many children who need even greater freedom and fewer performance requirements than a rule-based sport can offer,” says Pelle Möller.

In second place among the important factors cited by parents are “doing something with friends”, 61 per cent, and “getting exercise”, 26 per cent. Only in sixth place among the alternatives is “to compete”, with 9 per cent.

For more information
Pelle Möller, CEO, JumpYard, pelle@jumpyard.se

Facts: About the survey

The Sifo survey was conducted in Sweden in May 2023 and was answered by 1,000 parents who have children aged 0-18. Kantar Sifo’s panel includes only randomly recruited persons. No self-recruitment is used. The question asked was:

Which of the following do you think is important for your child to consider when choosing a sport or leisure activity that focuses on movement? (Choose up to three options).

As respondents were allowed to select more than one option, the totalled percentage is more than 100.

Facts: Five tips to get kids moving

Focus on fun
Try to avoid talking about ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’, and focus on activities that both you and your child enjoy.

Planning movement into your daily life.
Help your child make movement a part of every day. Can you cycle or walk instead of travelling? Take the stairs instead of the lift?

Say yes
Practise saying yes to what your child suggests, even if it doesn’t follow traditional rules or what you have in mind.

Let it get messy
Play and movement can get wild, loud and messy, try to focus on the play in the moment and take the clean-up later.

Take ownership of the activity/movement
cExplain that the child’s movement is your adult responsibility, just like screen time. And if you move, show it, because children don’t do what we say, they do what we do.

Read more: 10 tips about getting kids to move

Facts: About JumpYard

• JumpYard aims to combat sedentary behaviour by offering fun movement.
• Since 2020, JumpYard has been part of the Generation Pep network, which works to get more children moving.
• The company has 11 parks in Sweden: Barkarby, Göteborg, Helsingborg, Karlstad, Kristianstad, Linköping, Nacka, Skövde, Västerås, Åre, Örebro. Parks will soon open in Norrköping and Kungsbacka.
• JumpYard also has parks in Denmark, Norway, Portugal and Spain. In total, the company has 17 parks, the number will grow to 24 by summer 2024.
• In total, 1.1 million hours of jumping took place in JumpYards parks in Sweden last year and 1.7 million hours when all parks are included.
• The company has over 600 employees.