Sara Cox urges you to get the children in the garden
It's all go for BBC 1 Radio star Sara Cox, we were lucky enough to chat to Coxy about her new campaign to get kids more active, her favourite childhood games and her new comedy role at radio 2.
Hi Sara! Can you tell us a bit about the new campaign you are involved with?
Dairylea have done some research and are doing a campaign to encourage simple fun, to get back to a, sort of, traditional way of playing with your kids, to get outside and enjoy time in the garden with the kids and play more traditional games. They did a lot of research with a childhood play expert called Tim Gill. The research has shown kids lives these days are a bit more complicated and its quite easy as a parent to plonk them infront of the telly or let them play on a games console.
You can go online to facebook.com/dairylea where you can win loads of sporting equptment, you can win funding for local projects to the tune of £4,000, if you want to perhaps start up a little rounders team, football team or maybe a playgroup or organise little outings like a picnic gang. Simple fun is what it's all about really, if you can prove that's the sort of thing you want to do a little project in your community you could win £4,000.
Why did you get involved with this campaign?
I get asked to do a lot of things and I don't do many, to be honest, I try to do things that strike a cord with me and this one did.
When I'm busy working and get home, its quite tempting to let the kids watch telly while I get on with dinner. It's not always easy to go outside and play these complicated games with a big list of rules becuase my kids are quite young. But if you get the kids out in the garden or if it's not a great day, just play a little game indoors it's nice to have that little bit of time.
I've been reminded of games like British Bulldog which I loved when I was little, so I'm in the throws of teaching that to them, and it does involve mild violence so it's right up their street! Any reason to legally tackle each other to the ground is always well recieved by them.
Why do you think its important for parents to encourage their children to take part in simple activities?
I think it's good because it develops their social skills, learning to share and how to work together in a game. Also, I think as a parent its all about little battles really. I think if you put a bit of time in to play games like that. They feel like they have had a bit of attention and fuss off you, and your life is made easier because they don't feel like they need to play up to get some attention.
It doesn't cost any money as well, which is nice, if you take the kids to the cinema, once you've paid for the parking, the popcorn, the sweets and then the actual movie it costs a fortune. And hopefully, if we get a bit of alright weather for the rest of the summer, its quite nice to get out, make a few sandwiches and run around in the garden.
What games do your children like playing?
It's difficult because Lola's 7 so she will get the rules and Isac's 3 so he kinda won't. He's a bit like me, in school I was in every single sports team, I was rubbish at all of them but I threw myself into it! Isaac's a bit like that. Lola gets it a bit more.
I quite like things like What Time Is It Mr. Wolf and British Bulldog. I like Hide And Seek, which sounds ridiculous but it's just the best if its a rainy day. It's quite fun in our house, it's nice to have a game of that before we start trying to settle them down for bath time.
Isaac's just getting into being able to kick a ball, you know at that stage with kids when you're like "don't pick it up!" because they keep trying to pick it up? He's now getting that and managing to kick the ball around. As a mum, if there's anything where you can just wear them out a little bit that's fine, because I'm constantly battling to keep the TV off and there's only so many arts and crafts that I can pull together before I give up and put a kids channel on the TV. So it's nice to have an alternative and a quick game of something to get them worn out a bit.
Have you got any tips for parents who want to encourage their children to get off the games console and get involved with something like this?
I think parents need to be enthusiastic and up for it to persevere if they are trying to wrench them from the TV remote control. Because, like, how animals can sense fear, I think that kids can sense it when you're faking it and you're pretending like you want to play with them but if you're genuinely enthusiastic and trying to get them outdoors it helps.
If you do have some new equipment like Space Hoppers or a new bike, i think that definitely helps. Even if it's a Hoola Hoop it can push them out to the garden.
Failing that, buy a massive safe and lock away the TV and games console!
Do you think that all the new electronic games are the reason behind why children have lost interest in simple activities?
Mine are really young so the games console doesn't really come into it but the telly certainly does, I put that on and can hear their brains dripping out of their ears. I don't mind it if we watch a nice movie or watch something that doesn't have adverts and isn't a cartoon, something a bit more educational. I do try to limit the amount.
I think when you're indoors its tricky to know how to entertain them, which is why things like Sardines, which is a sort of more advanced level of hide and seek, and things that you can play in the house when the weathers rubbish are quite handy.
I think it's a combination of things, my kid's are obsessed with the Ipad and stuff, we have to hide all of them but if we get them playing games, they get massively into it.
I think also, parents, especially in big cities, are much more weary about letting their kids go out and play on the streets. I mean, I used to go out and play British Bulldog, on what we used to call the half circle, a little concrete pedestrian bit where all the kids from our street used to play. Kids these days are a bit more restricted to their gardens and house and thats why, as parents, I think we've got to try and be a bit more pro-active.
There might be mums reading this who have just done a 12 hour shift, we've got to be realistic, I'm not expecting every hour to be funfilled but I definitely think you can swap half an hour of TV for a game. We all have rubbish mum days and we all have those "high 5! You go mum" sort of days, I know I do. It feels good if you get them engaged and play games with them.
And finally, can you tell us what's coming up for you in the next 6 months?
I still have my BBC Radio 1 programme which is going really well, there's some really lovely TV bits coming up as well.
I feel like I'm going up to the Sixth Form (laughs) because I'm in for Claudia Winkleman doing some of her comedy shows for BBC Radio 2 Saturday nights, so I honestly feel like when you move to a big school, I've not moved to Radio 2 yet but I've been and looked around and met some of the teachers, so that's massively exciting! Then there's some other jobs in the pipeline which I've got every finger and every toe crossed for.
Femalefirst Mia Bolton
It's all go for BBC 1 Radio star Sara Cox, we were lucky enough to chat to Coxy about her new campaign to get kids more active, her favourite childhood games and her new comedy role at radio 2.
Hi Sara! Can you tell us a bit about the new campaign you are involved with?
Dairylea have done some research and are doing a campaign to encourage simple fun, to get back to a, sort of, traditional way of playing with your kids, to get outside and enjoy time in the garden with the kids and play more traditional games. They did a lot of research with a childhood play expert called Tim Gill. The research has shown kids lives these days are a bit more complicated and its quite easy as a parent to plonk them infront of the telly or let them play on a games console.
You can go online to facebook.com/dairylea where you can win loads of sporting equptment, you can win funding for local projects to the tune of £4,000, if you want to perhaps start up a little rounders team, football team or maybe a playgroup or organise little outings like a picnic gang. Simple fun is what it's all about really, if you can prove that's the sort of thing you want to do a little project in your community you could win £4,000.
Why did you get involved with this campaign?
I get asked to do a lot of things and I don't do many, to be honest, I try to do things that strike a cord with me and this one did.
When I'm busy working and get home, its quite tempting to let the kids watch telly while I get on with dinner. It's not always easy to go outside and play these complicated games with a big list of rules becuase my kids are quite young. But if you get the kids out in the garden or if it's not a great day, just play a little game indoors it's nice to have that little bit of time.
I've been reminded of games like British Bulldog which I loved when I was little, so I'm in the throws of teaching that to them, and it does involve mild violence so it's right up their street! Any reason to legally tackle each other to the ground is always well recieved by them.
Why do you think its important for parents to encourage their children to take part in simple activities?
I think it's good because it develops their social skills, learning to share and how to work together in a game. Also, I think as a parent its all about little battles really. I think if you put a bit of time in to play games like that. They feel like they have had a bit of attention and fuss off you, and your life is made easier because they don't feel like they need to play up to get some attention.
It doesn't cost any money as well, which is nice, if you take the kids to the cinema, once you've paid for the parking, the popcorn, the sweets and then the actual movie it costs a fortune. And hopefully, if we get a bit of alright weather for the rest of the summer, its quite nice to get out, make a few sandwiches and run around in the garden.
What games do your children like playing?
It's difficult because Lola's 7 so she will get the rules and Isac's 3 so he kinda won't. He's a bit like me, in school I was in every single sports team, I was rubbish at all of them but I threw myself into it! Isaac's a bit like that. Lola gets it a bit more.
I quite like things like What Time Is It Mr. Wolf and British Bulldog. I like Hide And Seek, which sounds ridiculous but it's just the best if its a rainy day. It's quite fun in our house, it's nice to have a game of that before we start trying to settle them down for bath time.
Isaac's just getting into being able to kick a ball, you know at that stage with kids when you're like "don't pick it up!" because they keep trying to pick it up? He's now getting that and managing to kick the ball around. As a mum, if there's anything where you can just wear them out a little bit that's fine, because I'm constantly battling to keep the TV off and there's only so many arts and crafts that I can pull together before I give up and put a kids channel on the TV. So it's nice to have an alternative and a quick game of something to get them worn out a bit.
Have you got any tips for parents who want to encourage their children to get off the games console and get involved with something like this?