Charles Sturt University researchers are enabling children to have a say on ways of being active with their parents or carers with new, free, codesigned, online resources for families.

The Charles Sturt University research team included Research Fellow with Three Rivers Department of Rural Health (DRH) in Albury-Wodonga Dr Kate Freire, Professor in Physiotherapy Rod Pope and Lecturer in Physiotherapy Ms Kristen Andrews.

The Charles Sturt research team collaborated with paediatricians from the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, Riverina Paediatrics and Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network to develop three resources to help families be active together.

There are three online resources available – Doing Physical Activity Together, Planning Physical Activity Together and a blank template to plan activities.

Doing Physical Activity Together gives advice for families about the social, developmental, physical, mood and brain gains of being active together, and some ideas to try.

Planning Physical Activity Together supports families to plan for doing physical activity together.

They were co-designed with children, parents and other advisors with families testing the resources during workshops and providing their feedback.

The families said all participants being able to have a voice in the activity created positive experiences.

Dr Freire said some children and their parents/carers are not often active but being active helps children who are neuro and developmentally diverse.

Rural families can have a long wait to see health workers so Dr Freire said these resources can assist while families are waiting to be seen.

“These resources support what is arguably the most important physical activity partnership, the child-parent physical activity partnership,” she said.

“Being active together as a family is often about so much more than just being physically active.

“It is about connecting as a family and providing children with experiences that help their social and emotional development.”

Feedback from participating families noted the resources allowed children to know what was happening, reducing confusion and questions, which allowed everyone in the family to have a better experience.

The resources are now available for free online.