David Lloyd

A staggering one in five children aged 6-11 years do not receive any support from their parents when it comes to getting involved in sport outside of school, with a further 50 percent of boys and 15 percent of girls saying they would play more sport if their parents were prepared to drive them to sports clubs. The shocking findings were revealed in research released today by David Lloyd Leisure, as part of its Team Family campaign.

The polls, which surveyed more than 1,000 children aged 6-11, and 2,000 parents across the UK, found that despite these figures, a third of parents believe their children should be playing more sport.

“Parents play a vital role in determining how physically active their children are. The results reveal that while parents feel their children should be more active, their behaviour is not supporting this belief,” says Sarah Hobbs, Head of Family and Programming at David Lloyd Leisure.

When asked specifically how parents would like to see their children spend their leisure time playing sport came out at the very top with 39 per cent followed by doing homework (16 per cent), playing a musical instrument (15 per cent), arts & crafts (8 per cent) and watching television (6 per cent). Despite this, half of parents confess to watching more than four hours of television per week as a family compared to just 25 per cent who play more than four hours of sport a week with their children.

Olympic gold medal winner Denise Lewis OBE, the Team Family ambassador, says: “I wholeheartedly support the principles of this campaign. Whilst there is demand on parents’ time, they play a massive role in inspiring their children to get involved in sport. Without an incredible level of support from my mum I would never have achieved all that I have. That said, it’s not just about winning Olympic medals in 2012. It’s more about encouraging our children to play more sport and enjoy all the benefits of a physically active lifestyle.”

Commenting on issues facing an entire generation, Sarah Hobbs says: “In the UK, around 27 per cent of children are now overweight and clearly, getting the younger generation more active will play a vital part in tackling this massive health issue.

“It was also very sad to see that one in three children (33 per cent of girls and 29 per cent of boys) also stated that ‘not being good at sport’ was the reason they don’t participate more. Encouraging children to have a go and get involved in a variety of physical activities from a young age is absolutely vital if they are to develop core skills such as balance, flexibility and hand eye coordination.

“If we don’t nurture these skills when they are young, children will find it difficult to perform well in sporting scenarios as they grow up and there is a danger that they will become reluctant to participate. The Team Family campaign aims to encourage, inspire and support families to get more involved in sport.”

- Ends –

David Lloyd Leisure commission two pieces research to launch its Team Family campaign. Online surveys were conducted by OnePoll (sample size 2,000 parents) and YoungPoll (sample size 1,000 children aged 6-15 years).

Results are available by age, gender and region.

Team Family

Family and sport sit at the heart of the David Lloyd Leisure brand. Team Family has been launched to raise awareness of the vital role sport can play in family life, and the importance of parental support in the future sporting involvement of our younger generation.

David Lloyd Leisure

The David Lloyd Leisure Group operates 78 clubs in the UK and a further 10 sites across Europe. The Group was formed in 2007 following the acquisition of David Lloyd Leisure Ltd by London & Regional Properties, owners of Next Generation Clubs, and HBOS.

David Lloyd Leisure has over 450,000 members and employs 6,000 people. This includes an expert health and fitness team of over 750 and more than 350 tennis professionals.

Across all clubs, David Lloyd Leisure has over 150 swimming pools (of which half are indoor) and offers over 10,000 exercise classes per week. Every week 20,000 children learn to swim at David Lloyd Leisure and 14,000 learn to play tennis.

Its racquets facilities are unparalleled with 700 tennis courts as well as 180 badminton courts and 140 squash courts. Additional facilities include health and beauty spas, club lounges with free internet access, crèches, nurseries and specialist sports shops.

Denise Lewis

Denise won the gold medal in the heptathlon event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was dubbed as one of the ‘golden girls’ of British athletics alongside Kelly Holmes, Paula Radcliffe and Christine Ohorougu. Denise is now mother to three children aged eight, three and one.