What parents can do to expand exercise opportunities for children, in and out of school:

At school

• Work with your parent-teacher association to raise money for sports equipment.

• Speak up about the importance of recess and physical education.

• Encourage your child to take part in team sports or athletic programs, whether sponsored by the school, the local YMCA or other recreational groups.

• Talk to your child's teachers about planning five-minute fitness breaks for aerobic activities, such as jumping jacks.

• Volunteer to help with physical activity events or sports at your child's school.

• Form a "walking school bus" and volunteer to walk groups of students to school.

• Ask school leaders to include information about the importance of physical activity in the curriculum and in newsletters.

• Team up with other parents to form an early-morning or after-school club for walking, biking or running.

• Participate in Walk to School Day with your children at www.walktoschool.org.

• Connect with efforts already under way. Reach out to the American Heart Association, the local YMCA or other groups that can provide ideas and materials.

During family time

• Take active vacations, such as hiking, swimming and skiing.

• Use the stairs rather than the elevator when at the mall or when running errands.

• Get pedometers and have a contest to see who takes the most steps in a given week.

• Start a tradition of taking the family out for an after-dinner walk.

• Take on active chores, like gardening or shoveling snow, as a family activity.

• Play a sport together: touch football, softball, walking, in-line skating, anything that gets you all moving.

• Set limits on how much time children can spend playing video games and watching TV.

• Dance with your children to their favorite music

• Plant a family garden.

• Play miniature golf.

• Go to the zoo.

• Take the dog for a walk.

• Walk rather than drive when possible.

• Play games that your kids love — Simon Says, Duck-Duck Goose, and any other favorites.

SOURCES: National PTA, American Council on Exercise