Unplug & Play Week

It’s Time to Make Room for Play

• Active play among kids is on the decline in Canada and around the world.

• The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that Canadian kids aged 5 –17, accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity each day. Only 5% of 5-to 17-year olds are meeting the recommendations.*

• While there is no singular cause or silver bullet solution to this inactivity issue, one of the contributing factors is related to the increased time that kids spend in sedentary behaviours - especially in front of screens.

Unplug & Play

*2009-11 Canadian Health Measures Survey, Statistics Canada.

The Make Room for Play Campaign

• Without doubt, the typical Canadian family leads a hectic life. While parents universally acknowledge that kids need physical activity to be healthy, it often gets sidelined due to competing priorities and “lack of time”.

• And for busy families, sometimes it’s just easier to get something done if you sit kids down in front of a TV to watch a show or hand over your smartphone/tablet to amuse them with games.

• Moderating kids' “screen time” (which includes TV, videos, DVDs, computers, video games, and handheld devices) is key for freeing up time to get active.

• In January 2015, ParticipACTION launched the Make Room for Play campaign to encourage families to reclaim active play time back from screen time.

Unplug & Play

Unplug & Play Week• Unplug & Play Week is a continuation of the Make Room for Play Campaign and takes place from

March 23 – 29, 2015.

• Unplug & Play Week is a social marketing sub-initiative designed to nudge parents into ACTION by:– creating motivation and incentives for parents to turn virtual playtime into real playtime for

their children– engaging parents in dialogue about ways to overcome the

barrier of too much screen-time

Unplug & Play

Partner Communication Tools Available

• Communication tools are available to help motivate audiences to unplug and play for the week of March 23.

• All tools can be downloaded at

www.participaction.com/get-moving/unplug-play/tools

• Co-branded tools are available online for the following

partner provinces:o British Columbia o Nova Scotiao New Brunswicko Newfoundland and Labrador

Unplug & Play

Unplug & Play

Social Media Kit

Communication Tools

PosterSocial Media Images

Shareable Infographics

Web/e-news Button

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Online Resources

Bring Back Play app

Sharable Blog Content

Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines

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Online Resources

Unplug & Play Week Calendar with live links to the Bring Back Play app

Printable Certificate of Play

Help Canadian Families Unplug & PlayWe all can play a part in encouraging Canada’s kids to be as active as possible – to swap screen time with real active play! Here’s how you can help:

• Print the poster or share it on social media• Use the pre-written posts (and images) in the social media kit on your own

Facebook or Twitter pages• Don’t forget to promote the hashtag #UnplugAndPlay• Post a web button on your website and link back to

www.makeroomforplay.com • Include content in your e-newsletter• Use the Unplug & Play logo on your communications materials• Share a blog post with your network• Create a community event the week of Unplug & Play

Unplug & Play

Links and Resources

• ParticipACTION Make Room for Play Campaign www.makeroomforplay.com

• Unplug & Play Communication Tools www.participaction.com/get-moving/unplug-play/tools

• ParticipACTION’s Bring Back Play mobile app www.bringbackplay.ca

Unplug & Play

Thank you!

Now turn off your devices and go outside and get active.