FITeens Toolkit

19 period of adolescence (Mendonça et al., 2014). Although the association between adolescen ts’ physical activity and teacher support has shown to be ambiguous (Mendonça et al., 2014), there is evidence that students are more physically active outside of school if the teacher has created a learning environment in physical education classes that supports their basic psychological needs and thereby the development of intrinsic motivation towards physical activity (Kalajas-Tilga et al., 2020). Considering that positive lifestyle behaviors such as participating in daily physical activity begin during childhood and adolescence and tend to carry over into adulthood, it is crucial to promote the physical activity of children and adolescents. Moreover, the physical inactivity of children and adolescents has already been recognised as a global pandemic (Kohl et al., 2012). Below, you can find a series of recommendations based on scientific evidence, to promote success in physical activity participation among children and adolescents. These tips may be helpful for teachers, as well as parents and coaches for developing enjoyable and safe physical activity experiences for children and adolescents.