46% of parents say they’re already running out of active summer holiday ideas to do with their kids

Just a few days into the six-week school holidays, new research reveals that nearly a quarter of UK parents (24%) say they’ve already run out of active things to do with their children. And almost half (46%) expect to have exhausted their ideas by mid-August - with several weeks still to go before term starts again.

As screen time creeps up and energy levels dip, parents are reporting rising guilt and frustration around keeping their children active, engaged, and off devices this summer.

Now, a new solution has launched to support families: Mvmnt Family, a family workout series designed specifically to get parents and kids moving together - with no pressure, no high costs, and no need to rely on the weather.

Created by UK fitness platform Mvmnt, the new offering features 7-minute, equipment-free workouts, each led by a coach and child side-by-side on screen. The workouts span a broad range of modalities, from strength, yoga, HIIT, football and balance, and are designed to be effective for adults while also being fun and engaging for children, making daily movement a shared, feel-good family activity.

Shake Up the School Run

Mvmnt Family launches with the campaign “Shake Up The School Run”, encouraging families to reclaim the time they’d usually spend on the school drop-off and turn it into something active over the summer holidays.

The campaign invites parents to “swap car seats for high knees”, using short, energetic Mvmnt Family sessions to boost fitness, mood, and connection during the break.

One Month of Mvmnt Free

To help ease the pressure on families during the expensive school break, Mvmnt is offering a one-month free trial to all new members via its mobile and web app, as well as Amazon Fire and Google TV customers from 1st August, using the code SUMMERSHAKEUP.

Sky TV customers with Sky Live, Sky Glass, Sky Stream and Sky Q devices can also access Mvmnt for free this summer, with a 45 day free trial of Mvmnt as a new member of the fitness app.

On both trials, new members get access to the full Mvmnt Familyworkout series, as well as Mvmnt’s wider library of expert-led sessions, including strength, cardio, Pilates, yoga, and more - with workouts starting from just 5 minutes.

A Growing Problem

The launch is backed by consumer research highlighting the struggle many families face during the summer holidays:

• 46% of parents say they’ll run out of active ideas by mid-August
• 27% of families do something active together just once a week or less
• 35% of parents want to be more active with their kids, but worry about the cost
• 29% are concerned about childhood obesity; 25% about rising solo screen time
• 38% want to set a better example for their children’s health and wellbeing
• 28% cite lack of time to be active with kids while 27% say parenting tasks take priority

These concerns echo broader public health warnings: 22.1% of Year 6 pupils in England are now classified as obese, and the NHS predicts that nearly 4 in 10 children could be overweight or obese by 2035 if current trends continue.

“We know that the summer holidays can feel overwhelming. Parents are juggling work, and cost worries and the unpredictable UK weather means keeping kids active and reducing solo screen time isn’t always easy,” said Rory Knight, Coach and Director of Fitness at Mvmnt.

“That’s why we created Mvmnt Family and launched our Shake Up the School Run campaign. It’s designed to help families switch the boring, everyday activities of regular term-time life, like the school run, for a fun, feel-good burst of movement the whole family can do together.

“Mvmnt Family’s short, high-energy sessions are easy to access and designed to fit real family life - indoors or out. It’s a simple way to boost mood, get everyone moving, and build healthy habits that last beyond the holidays.