As England eases its lockdown restrictions, open air sports facilities have been allowed to reopen, and some indoor facilities will be able to reopen from 12 April, according to the government’s roadmap to coming out of lockdown.

With that in mind, now is the time to start thinking about encouraging children back to exercise, particularly if they’ve spent most of the winter lockdown period indoors and inactive.

Laceeze bands give their suggestions for beginning or resuming activity.

• Children and adolescents ages 6 – 17 years should do at least 1 hour or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity each day
• Encourage children to think of exercise as something fun to look forward to
• Children should do activities that strengthen bones (like running or jumping) and those that build muscles (like climbing or doing push-ups) at least 3 times a week
• Playing team sport regularly helps children build self confidence and improve mental health and critical thinking skills, and teaches discipline-
• Shoelaces coming undone during a match is a recurring problem, especially in youth football and rugby. Did you know that Laceeze bands completely stop laces coming undone and are endorsed by parents and coaches?