Are boys and girls interested in the same kinds of physical activity? Do all boys like hockey, and all girls like dance? The short answer is “no.” That said, interests and participation in physical activity do tend to differ depending on gender. If we want to encourage both boys and girls to be more physically active, we need to keep gender differences in mind.

This article gives you information about how girls and boys participate in physical activity. The article also explores how to encourage both genders to try new and different activities.

1. Girls and Physical Activity

How Are Girls Active?

Girls tend to engage in less vigorous physical activities than boys. The amount of time girls spend being active tends to take a sharp dive when they hit their teen years.

Girls are also less likely to participate in team sports than boys, but are more likely to participate in aerobics or dance.

Encouraging Girls to Be Active

To support girls in being more active at school or at home, make sure you have instructors who focus on building skills and encouraging success.

Provide opportunities for girls to be physically active. Monitoring the quality of their experiences could include verbal feedback, smiles and laughter, as well as informal surveys and opinion polls in a phys-ed class.

Participate along with your girls to build their confidence and support involvement in a wide range of physical activities.

2. Boys and Physical Activity

How Are Boys Active?

Boys tend to engage in more vigorous physical activities. Like girls, boys’ total time being active drops sharply in their teen years (but this happens a little later for boys than girls).

Boys may be drawn more to team sports and tend to be more focused on individual, rather than social goals.

Encouraging Boys to Be Active

Any program designed to increase boys’ physical activity should offer a balance of activities (not just floor hockey). Boys also need a variety of activities to fully develop into physically active adults.

Boys can enjoy dance and gymnastics just as much as girls if they are involved in decision making, such as choosing the music.

3. How Do I Ensure That Both Boys and Girls Are Active in School?

Physical activity opportunities in schools appear in four forms:

• Physical education
• Daily physical activity (DPA)
• Intramurals
• Extra-curricular activities

Start with the following suggestions in each category to ensure an equal chance for all kids to be active.

Physical Education

Both co-ed and classes separated by gender are good ways to meet the different needs of boys and girls. If possible, allow students to choose the kind of phys-ed class where they feel the most comfortable.

In either case, be sure that both genders have the chance to participate successfully in a wide range of activities.

Daily Physical Activity

Offer a variety of activities to engage and motivate students. For instance, offer games, dance, gymnastics and individual activities.
Include activities in different environments (outside the gym or field) such as swimming, skating or rock climbing. For example, line dancing in the gym to student-selected music allows a large number of students to get their bodies moving

Intramurals

Kids will be more engaged if they have a say in the activities. Ensure that intramurals are not all about floor hockey. Ask students, both boys and girls, what they’d like to do.

Engage student leadership groups to help plan activities and ensure a balance of activities.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Make sure that your school has equal opportunities for boys and girls to participate in all types of sports. For example, rugby is an excellent sport for girls who love physical play.

Explore the idea of junior teams or clubs that teach basic skills and allow a wider variety of participants to compete. Although boys and girls have general physical activity preferences, the fact is that both genders can enjoy any physical activity if given the chance.

The important things are to be sure kids have some say in how the activities are run and to have a wide variety of activities available.

Girls and boys are naturally wired to enjoy all types of physical activity — let’s make sure they get the chance!

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