Motivating children to stay active and develop healthy habits can be a challenging endeavour. Parents, teachers and coaches across Ireland often wonder how to get children to enjoy movement, exercise and sport. Frustratingly, sometimes the harder they push, the less success they see.
But what if one of the most effective ways to convince children to be active is not through reminders or encouragement... but through example?
This month we had "Men's Health Week", a week for nationwide health and mental wellness events designed to support men and boys, where the theme was "One Step at a Time," focusing on building healthy habits, physical activity, and breaking mental health stigma. "Professional Wellness Month" also takes place during June, which promotes the maintenance of mental, emotional, and physical health in the workplace. In that spirit, perhaps now is the chance for the adults of Ireland to seize the opportunity and begin modelling a life of wellness that they wish for the children in their lives.
While the idea might be intuitive to some, research shows just how powerful this practice can be, with children far more likely to develop healthy habits when the important adults in their lives model those behaviours themselves. Whether at home, in school or through sport, active adults can have a powerful influence on children’s wellbeing, confidence and motivation to move.
Children spend much of their early lives around parents, teachers and role models. As a result, they naturally observe and imitate the behaviours they see every day.
This means that adult wellbeing — including physical activity, energy levels and attitudes toward exercise — can significantly shape children’s wellbeing and healthy habits.
Research has consistently shown that children are more likely to be physically active when the adults around them are active too.
A widely cited study published over 30 years ago by Moore and colleagues found that children from households where both parents were active were 5.8x more active than children whose parents were inactive (1). This group of researchers observed that one active parent was often beneficial, but two had a potent cumulative effect on the activity of the children. Interestingly, an active mother appeared to have an even stronger influence on children’s activity levels.
For teachers and coaches, the same principle applies. Research examining school and sports environments found that when teachers and coaches actively joined games and activities, children engaged in more high-intensity movement than when adults relied on verbal encouragement alone (2).
A real-life example of the old adage: "actions speak louder than words."
More recent studies have focused on the utilisation of adults’ activity as an opportunity for children's activity and vice versa. The co-sharing of physical interventions between parent and child (3), especially when viewed as a way to facilitate familial bonding and relationships, resulted in both maintaining higher levels of activity over time.
One research project published in 2025 highlights this effect, observing that shared activities contributed to 33% of a child’s and 17% of a parent’s daily physical activity (4).
Another important factor in children’s wellbeing is physical literacy.
Physical literacy refers to the confidence, motivation, skills and knowledge children need to participate in physical activity successfully.
When children struggle with movement skills or lack confidence, they are less likely to participate in PE, sport or active play. This can create a cycle:
Low physical literacy → low confidence → lower motivation to participate
Something that has been demonstrated numerous times in the research literature (5) and a topic we've discussed in length before (Read here!).
However, when adults engage in activity alongside children, children often build confidence more quickly through observation, encouragement and practice.
At School Fitness Ireland, we regularly see children become more confident in movement when physical activity feels fun, supportive and achievable.
Research from the B-Proact1v Project found something particularly interesting: why adults exercise matters just as much as how much they exercise.
Adults who exercised because they genuinely enjoyed movement were more likely to stay consistent than those motivated mainly by guilt, pressure or appearance goals (6).
Children notice this.
When they see adults enjoying movement, physical activity becomes something positive and normal, not something people “have to do”.
Over time, this can have a lasting impact on children’s attitudes toward exercise and healthy habits.
In addition, regular exercise can improve energy (7), attention (8) and mental perseverance (9) which can potentially assist in the cultivation of a better teaching environment and more enthusiastic PE.
Understanding the psychology behind these effects is important, but perhaps most important is learning…
Here are some simple ways parents and teachers can help children develop healthy, active lifestyles.
If most of your exercise happens in a gym, children may never actually see you being active.
Try doing one workout at home, going for walks together or making movement more visible in daily life.
Children are more likely to value physical activity when they see trusted adults prioritising it.
Shared physical activity can improve both fitness and relationships.
You could:
Research suggests that shared activity benefits both adults and children and helps maintain long-term participation.
Children are more likely to stay active when movement feels fun and achievable.
Help children:
The same applies to adults.
Choosing activities you genuinely enjoy makes consistency much easier.
Movement does not have to happen only during organised exercise.
Try:
Small daily habits can make a big difference over time.
At School Fitness Ireland, one of our goals is helping children discover activities they genuinely enjoy.
By offering engaging PE experiences, fun fitness sessions and a wide variety of activities, including less traditional sports, we help schools create positive relationships with movement and physical activity.
Looking to introduce something new to PE, improve school wellbeing or help children become more active? you can explore our programmes or get in touch to book a session for your school by clicking the button below.
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