Now is the ideal time of year, when the sun is shining and the days are longer, to try and start motivating your children to get out and about and start moving! More and more children are eating too much and are not getting enough exercise. The figures are pretty frightening. One on ten six-year-olds is currently obese and the number of obese children in this country has doubled since 1982. If this trend continues half the children in England could be obese by 2020.

Apart from poor diet, which undoubtedly contributes to this growing problem, children have become less active in recent years, with many doing little or no exercise. But it's not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of activities that you can all get involved in. The kids will love them and will be encouraged and motivated by seeing mum and dad joining in too!

Whatever you decide to do, try and come up with ideas that will spark your children's imagination and which won't sound too much like hard work or exercise. Instead of simply suggesting you should all go on a walk, for instance, why not suggest you all go out 'collecting' and having some sort of small reward for the most interesting collection. One of you could collect leaves, which have to be matched to different trees; another could collect or identify different types of wild flowers. If you make it into a game they'll respond with enthusiasm.

A trip to the park could be made more interesting by getting everyone to draw particular things of interest: a bird bath, a wrought iron gate, even a statue. Again you could have prizes for the most authentic drawing, the most imaginative, the most colourful and even the most amusing!

If you go further afield many forests and pinetums open to the public have built fantastic climbing activity and cycle courses, which could provide hours of fun while they get that all important exercise. And even on a rainy day, you'd be amazed how much energy can be used up by little ones tearing around one of those indoor soft play areas, and mum could even be forgiven for not joining in! And, as you are probably only too aware, housework is great exercise and you could always do with an extra pair of hands to lighten the load! Doing chores around the house won't seem like exercise, but you might need to provide some incentive, in the form of some extra pocket money perhaps?

Remember that every school-age child should be getting at least 30 minutes to one hour of physical activity every day. Ask yourself if it's really essential that you take the car to school, or get on the bus. If it's only two or three stops, why not walk? You'll be amazed at how quickly everyone gets used to it and it may actually relieve the stress levels caused by traffic and parking problems. What may seem a struggle for the first few weeks will have untold benefits for you and your children in the long term, so put down those car keys, put on some sensible shoes and get walking today!