Parents
Get your children moving!
If you’re looking for support to get your children moving, we have you covered. It’s important because creating quality and positive physical activity experiences now will increase their chances of staying active later in life.
Here you’ll learn about the work we are doing in the community and where you can learn more through websites, resources and workshops.
Let’s do it for our tamariki and rangatahi.
Let's play
Play is so beneficial for our children. They get to have fun, build their imagination and practise life skills.
As parents, we know play is great. We experienced it ourselves. It helped build our resilience, kept us active, often amongst nature. We practised making decisions and made friends along the way. But as parents, life is busy, the juggle is real, and play can often be side-lined as we try to do all the things.
At Sport Bay of Plenty, we champion play and promote its benefits. Our Regional Play System Lead works across the Bay of Plenty to grow play opportunities. This includes supporting schools to be community play spaces and helping our tamariki to have safe and enjoyable routes to school. If you would like to increase your knowledge of play, we have resources and are here to help.
Learn more: Play, Resources - Parents
Creating quality sport experiences
Balance is Better is about creating quality sport experiences for our children to maintain their love of being active. It is a philosophy that has been developed by the New Zealand sport system. There is a dedicated website packed full of resources to help you know what direction to take including coaching tips. As we know, parents are often the ones to put their hands up to help coach. The Balance is Better website will help you on your coaching and sport parent journey.
Learn more: Balance is Better, Coaches
Good Sports
Good Sports® Promo Launch from Aktive on Vimeo.
Good Sports® is an individual behaviour change initiative aiming to create positive sporting experiences for tamariki and rangatahi by engaging and supporting you, the parents and whānau.
Sport Bay of Plenty, clubs and regional sporting organisations want to put an end to the behaviours that spoil sport for young people.
Learn more: Good Sports - Sport New Zealand
Working with our schools
This initiative is based on evidence showing children's nutrition and physical activity are linked to both academic achievement and improved physical and mental health.
To help our tamariki, our Healthy Active Learning team are working with up to 80 local schools. Our job is to enhance the provision of play, sport and physical education, and to create better connections with physical activity providers.
Learn more: Healthy Active Learning, Education Team
Keeping young women active
Let’s support our daughters to be active their way. The needs of young women are unique when it comes to sport and recreation. Research shows that they gradually participate less and drop-out of structured activity. If this resonates with your family, head to the Its My Move website for inspiration. You can also speak with our Women and Girls Lead who is here to support our community in this space.
Learn more: Its My Move, Sport Development and Coaching Team, Sport New Zealand – Parents
Early childhood
Did you know, a baby’s brain is only 15% developed at birth but 85% developed at age 3. Movement provides vital pathways in our young child’s brain; the richer the experiences, the more intricate patterns for learning, thought and creativity will be established. Positive active experiences impact on how children move and think for the rest of their lives. The more pathways established; the more efficiently the brain can function.
Physical activity experiences in the first five years encourage children to get the basics right before focusing on one particular skill, sport or activity. They begin to develop fundamental skills which are the foundation for more specialised skills used to play complex games, sport, dance and other physical recreation.
See our resources for our helpful Move, Laugh, Grow booklet or ideas for fun activities at home.
Learn more: Resources - Parents
Strength and balance classes for our parents
Something a little different, but as parents the wellbeing of our own parents is also important to us.
'Live Stronger for Longer' is a countrywide falls prevention programme. It involves strength and balance exercise classes for older people 65+ years. Classes are provided through local community groups for a low cost. They help older people improve their strength, balance, and well-being to reduce the risk of falls and fractures.
With an ageing population and the value of preventative medicine gaining increasing recognition, this initiative is key to ensuring our older population maintain their independence and experience a great quality of life. Would someone you know benefit from a strength and balance class? Our Keep on your Feet team oversee the initiative in the Western and Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Learn more: Seniors, Community Programmes Team
