Women In Sport Launch Mother-Daughter Campaign

October 9, 2020 

UK charity, Women in Sport, has launched a national #TimeTogether campaign campaign to empower mums and daughters to get active together in collaboration with creative and content agency Lucky7, and Global - one of Europe’s largest commercial radio companies.

Daughters and mums are being invited to set aside time to develop their relationship with each other through exercise and discover physical activity together. The partners also aim to illustrate the positive effects of being active and talking about ways to improve mental well-being, which has never been so relevant in the lives of young girls as a result of coronavirus.  

The campaign is the result of Women in Sport's latest research into teenage girls, which looks at the mother-daughter relationship and how instrumental it is in encouraging girls to get active. Results showed that teenage girls cherish alone time with their mums and view their relationship as a ‘safe space’ without any fear of judgment. This provides an opportunity for both to be active together and to discover the joy, fun and well-being benefits of exercise. 

The research showed that only 42% of teenage girls meet physical activity guidelines, while just under a third of girls (32%) are inactive, engaging in less than an average of 30 minutes of activity per day. Meanwhile, mums are often reluctant to allocate time for themselves to be active. 32% of the women said that they couldn’t prioritise exercise during lockdown as they had too much to do for others.  

“When my daughter was a teenager we would practice shooting for netball in the garden and go for walks with the dog,” said Stephanie Hilborne, CEO, Women in Sport. “This time together built a new relationship on a more equal footing, and I could see she valued these safe conversations, not least because her school friendships were increasingly plagued by social media dramas and conflicts.  

“Our insights show that girls in their teens feel burdened by school work and social expectations, and at the same time, the lives of their mothers are often fraught with growing pressures of work and providing emotional support and care for relatives. We want every mother and every daughter to feel they have permission to take time out to have fun outside and be active. There has rarely been a more important time for such special mutual support and to be active together than in this pandemic.” 

To illustrate the power of the mother and daughter bond, as part of the campaign, the organisation has collected some stories from mums who have found an activity to do with their teenage daughters. 

Women in Sport says a host of organisations including the likes of the Wildlife Trust, Our Parks, Canal and River Trust, and This Mum Runs will be offering activity ideas for mums and daughters across the UK.  

Learn more about the 2020 Beyond Sport Global Award Shortlisters who are also using sport to promote good health and well-being.