PARENTS RELY ON SCHOOLS TO GIVE CHILDREN THE EXERCISE THEY NEED

SUMMER is over and the kids are back in school, which is a good thing for their health according to a new survey revealing time conscious parents are relying on PE lessons and running around the playground as the main form of physical activity for their children.

The survey of 1,000 parents conducted by LeapFrog, the leading children's educational entertainment brand, reveals that parents in North West England are confused about how to keep their children fit and healthy, with 49% admitting they have no idea that the Government recommended daily amount of physical activity for young children is 1 hour a day.  20% of parents are confused by what the right healthy choices are for their family and 36% blame an overload of diet and health messages for this.

According to the survey, the average child spends 8 hours and 55 minutes a week being active, but just an 8th (1 hour and 40 minutes) of that time is outside school, making school depended upon to provide children the majority of their physical activity.

25% of parents say they lack the time to make plans for their children to be physically active and 29% admit they find it difficult to motivate their child to get active outside of school. Further, despite being a main source of exercise for kids, 16% of parents said PE is their child's least favourite subject at school, 16% said their child thought PE was boring and a further 10% said their child feels embarrassed doing PE.

With childhood obesity in the limelight and many parents lacking in time and knowledge on how to keep their children active at home, LeapFrog's latest innovation, LeapBand, the first wearable activity tracker for children, gives parents the power to no longer rely on schools to get their child moving. Importantly LeapBand offers a fun and refreshing solution to making being active part of everyday life, and hopes to motivate young children and their parents to be more enthusiastic about physical activity with the wearable device.

Dr. Gavin Sandercock, Children's Fitness Professor at Fitmedia comments:- "LeapFrog's research gives cause for concern that parents are relying too much on schools to provide their child enough exercise and are lacking in the time and knowledge to motivate them at home. LeapBand is unique in being the only device to inspire children to get moving and learn healthy habits in a fun and rewarding way, offering parents a new way to inspire their children to get active."

Sally Plumridge, International Marketing Director at LeapFrog adds:- "Our research shows parents are relying on schools to give their child enough physical activity, but are confused about the best ways to keep them motivated at home. The new school term and the arrival of LeapBand offer a completely fresh start for both parents and children to change the way they think about active play outside of school time. With LeapBand, parents can benefit from valuable insight about their child's daily activity and kids will be having so much fun, they won't realise all of the physical exercise they are experiencing and the healthy habits they are learning."

LeapBand, which launched in August, gets kids moving and having fun with 50 different activities and challenges, tracking and rewarding a child's physical movements: the more active they are, the more points they earn. A choice of 8 virtual pets are on offer to be nurtured with healthy treats and guide the child through imaginative and engaging active play. They can also unlock additional games, challenges, levels of play and virtual rewards for their on-screen pet.

LeapBand has an aspirational fit-band style designed with kids in mind. High-tech features include a built-in accelerometer, high-resolution colour screen, rechargeable battery and water-resistant design, making it the ultimate activity wearable for kids. Parents can set school time and night time modes to select days and times during the week where LeapBand will only display the analogue or digital clock but will continue to track and reward activity.

For extended play after school, parents can download a free app called PetathlonT Games, available for Wi-Fi enabled LeapPad tablets, iOS or Android devices, which allows children to compete as their pet in mini-games to win extra rewards for their animals, including medals and tracksuits. These earned rewards can then be synced to LeapBand through LeapFrog Connect, which appear on the child's virtual pet, providing children with a collaborative play platform with LeapPad. The Petathlon Games app is available for download to Wi-Fi enabled LeapPad tablets from LeapFrog as well as an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet.

The LeapBand activity tracker (RRP £29.99, for children 4 to 7 years old) comes in green, pink, blue and orange, online and is available major UK retail locations. Additional activities and challenges are free and available for download via LeapFrog Connect for LeapBand.  For more information, visit:- leapfrog.com/en/leapband.