Teachers are taking active lead in 2012 Olympic bid to get pupils into exercise
Memories of children climbing trees or riding bikes have made way for a more modern image of kids sat glued to the television or hunched over game consoles – and rainy summers are not to blame.
In fact, it may not be the youngsters themselves who are entirely responsible for this shift towards static indoor activities.
According to Suzanne Meehan, PE adviser for Derby City Council, parents have become increasingly wary about letting their children play out in their neighbourhoods.
That, says Mrs Meehan, combined with schools prioritising academic subjects over physical activity, has led to today's youths being far less active than previous generations.
And she believes the upcoming London Olympic Games is the perfect opportunity to inspire change.
"The Olympics can be that burning flame that reminds children about the fun and benefits of being active," said Mrs Meehan.
"But in order to do that we need to seriously think about the way we look at young people. A lot of people think children should be quiet and sat down doing homework.
"Parents don't want them playing outside because they consider it too dangerous but we need to change that culture.
"When I was a girl, I'd come home from school and would go straight outside on my bike. But that's not the case anymore. These days children get games consoles for Christmas or DVDs."
Mrs Meehan said youngsters had been allowed to settle into lazy habits.
"The other day I saw an 18-year-old girl go into a lift instead of climbing only two flights of stairs," she said. We have to re-engage with youngsters and get them wanting to do more exercise."
Mrs Meehan said a "massive investment" has already been plowed into local schools, which she said have a pivotal role to play in getting pupils active.
She said: "There are a number of ways we're introducing more physical activities in our schools.
"Most of our primary schools are signed up to the Daily Physical Activity programme, which involves pupils being active at times during every school day.
"In fact, two-thirds are doing an extra 50 minutes a week of PE.
"Then there's the Take 10 initiative where teachers introduce 10 minutes of activity each day in their class."
One school that's taken this message on board is West Park Community School in Spondon.
Pupils learning about molecules as part of a science lesson were taken into the playground by teacher Gemma Roberts.
She said: "The pupils play the part of molecules and when I shout liquid they bump into each other. When I shout gas they run around.
"It makes it more interesting for them and helps them learn while being active."
Elsewhere, Kirk Hallam Community Technology College has signed up to the 2012 London Olympics "Get Set" programme, which encourages schools to be part of the Olympic movement.
Lorraine Stone, assistant head of PE at the college, said four of its students were working as ambassadors, organising Olympic-themed events.
She said: "They helped organise a year 9 Olympic enterprise day that involved students taking part in eight workshops.
"They had to design the Olympic park, test out gym equipment and sort out sponsorship deals.
"The ambassadors are also going into our feeder primary schools and doing assemblies on the seven Olympic values, which are friendship, courage, equality, determination, excellence, respect and inspiration.
"Then we've got the Golden Mile Club and the class that has run the most miles will win a prize.
"We've also been linked up with a school in Canada and we are looking to set up a joint-Olympic project."
Last week, Gaynor Nash, regional co-ordinator for Children and Young People Legacy for the 2012 Games, held a meeting attended by 150 school delegates from across the East Midlands to discuss how schools could make the most of the 2012 Olympics.
Derbyshire was well represented and Ms Nash said there had been a positive reaction to plans to introduce five-hours of physical activities a week in schools.
She said: "Schools in recent years have focused on academic success in subjects such as English, maths and science.
"But the trend is reversing and schools are beginning to realise that having both a healthy mind and a healthy body is important."
Ms Nash said that in order to encourage children and young people to be adults, a compromise would have to be made.
She said: "We can't get away from the fact that games consoles are very popular among young people. So why not turn that on its head and use it as a means of getting them active?
"Consoles such as Wii-fit are fun to use and keep youngsters fit – so let's encourage that."
To find out how you can get involved in the Olympic movement visit www.derbyshiresport.co. uk/london2012.
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