Fitzy

Fitzy as a concept

The Fitzy character was developed several years ago and was initially introduced to KS1 children as a way to encourage them to adopt an active and healthy lifestyle. However, the character appeals to younger children too. In a child's imagination, Fitzy is their friend and is someone who will help them be happy and successful. Having fun and experiencing early success is pivotal in helping to keep children engaged in physical activity and Fitzy seems to act as an excellent motivator - starting children young and establishing habitual behaviours is the way forward!

author biography

Thoughts of a retired KS1 teacher and Grandmother

I loved Fitzy, he was brilliant for encouraging young children to eat healthily, love sport and work together. I still have my Fitzy and our grandchildren love him.

Thoughts of a Primary PE and KS1 lead teacher

Fitzy has been an important part of our school for many years now. The children love taking him home and learning new active skills with him. They talk about Fitzy when demonstrating various skills and when keeping fit and healthy. We love Fitzy and the ethos behind him.

BECOME A FITZY CLUB MEMBER

The reasoning behind the books

The Fitzy books are meant to be read together with adult and child and are designed to prompt children to copy the skills or actions described in the story. Fitzy is portrayed as friendly and helpful and for example, helps Emily learn to catch and will help your child catch too. The back of each book contains information for grown ups, with tips and ideas to help you teach your child; other ideas are provided on the blog. As a child becomes familiar with a character, they often develop an affinity and connection, which in turn can then influence their behaviour. Fitzy is active and healthy and is a great role model for children to copy.

Be part of a club

Children love to feel a sense of friendship and belonging, so being a member of a club and having a membership card is appealing. If your child is a Fitzy Club member, then they are committing to being active and healthy and this can be used as motivation for them to do any number of things e.g. learn to swim, ride a bike, go for a walk, eat their veg, clean their teeth etc. Go to free downloads to get a copy of the card to personalise for your child.

Celebrate the achievements of your child

Children need to learn to practice and be prepared to persevere to learn a skill. They will fail and find things difficult to begin with. On the free downloads page there are sticker templates for you to print off and use. Some of them can be used to encourage your child to keep trying and to reinforce the fact that they are getting better and improving. Once a skill has been mastered they can be given a Fitzy certificate to recognise their achievement. This will bolster self confidence and help your child develop pride in their performance - and doesn't everyone love a sticker!