More physical activity, less screen time recommended for young children
The first-ever report card that focuses exclusively on physical activity among children aged zero to four years shows two-thirds of the youngest Canadians are meeting physical activity guidelines and half are exceeding screen-time recommendations.
ParticipACTION released its 2026 Report Card on Physical Activity for the Early Years on Oct. 21. University of Victoria researcher Jean Buckler, an associate professor in the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, was part of the national research committee that developed the report card over the past year.
Buckler says the report card is the most comprehensive assessment ever conducted of movement behaviours among children of this age group, and brings attention to a critical stage of development that has historically received less focus than the school-aged years.
Q: What were the key findings of ParticipACTION’s 2026 report card?
We are off to a good start in supporting physical activity in the early years, but there are lots of places where we still have work to do. Sixty-seven per cent of children aged zero to four meet physical activity recommendations and 80 per cent meet sleep recommendations.
However, only 48 per cent meet the screen time recommendation and 25 per cent meet all recommendations within Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology’s Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years.
Fewer children from lower-income households and rural communities are participating in structured physical activity compared to their higher-income and urban and suburban counterparts. Children from lower-income families are also less likely to have access to recreation facilities and playgrounds. These are important equity issues that need to be addressed.
My biggest takeaway is there is no one place we need to focus on supporting children in the early years—it’s everything. It’s the cities they live in and move around in, childcare spaces, the availability of recreational facilities, and opportunities at home. There are so many spaces and places where we can support healthy movement from a policy and systems perspective—it’s important we take that broad approach to supporting young children’s movement.
Q: Were you concerned about the findings around screen time for young children?
In our current world where parents are juggling so many things, screen time is easy to turn to for families. The findings don’t surprise me, but they absolutely concern me. We could benefit greatly from better policies, systems, resources and environments to support families. For very young children under age two, the screen time recommendation is zero. This is a time when brains and bodies are developing those foundational physical skills such as walking, running and jumping, social-emotional learning, cognitive skills, and language skills. Developing those skills happens off screen. While meeting the guidelines may be challenging for some, every effort made to reduce screen time can have a positive impact on development in the early years and beyond.
Q: What are the long-term impacts if children don’t get enough physical activity?
Physical inactivity costs Canada $3.9 billion in avoidable health-care costs each year. This is the opportunity to get kids skilled, motivated and excited about physical activity and movement. When healthy movement habits aren’t established early, we know that children may be more likely to lead inactive lifestyles as adults, potentially affecting their long-term health. In childhood, physical activity levels drop dramatically. In adolescence, one in five teenagers are meeting physical activity recommendations, but from that group, only one in 10 girls are meeting recommendations. It’s important to help them learn skills at a time when they’re enthusiastic, when activity is fun, and when they’re trying hard to succeed and are progressing. If we don’t take action in the early years, we don’t have that same opportunity ever again. By building healthy movement habits early in life, Canada could see a change in movement behaviours across lifespans, which could reduce spending related to physical inactivity.
Read the full ParticipACTION report card.
