The Best Sports for Siblings Who Are Different Ages

Life has never felt so busy, with parents today being the most stretched generation so far, juggling the demands of work around the school day and holidays, and not to mention the never-ending life admin (let’s just not go there).

According to the Sports England 2025 survey, less than half the children in the UK are getting sufficient physical activity required for their age, and according to the Parentkind National Parent Survey 2024, 38% of parents say that paid work responsibilities leave them without enough time for family activities. The correlation is clear to us; the busier parents get, the less time and opportunities families have for sport.

Time is precious. We all want the best for our children and for them to grab every opportunity possible, especially if they show a keen interest in sport. The difficulty, however, as a parent is fitting this around work, school and family life, especially for those with more than one child. The logistics can become impossible. As time travel or splitting ourselves in two isn’t possible yet (however, our bets are on that Elon is working on this), we’ve found the key is to find an activity that both siblings can enjoy, at the same time, and in the same place. In our experience, the right sport can maximise your time but also increase the bond between siblings (as well as preserve your sanity). But the golden question is: which sport do you pick?

The Problem With Age Gaps

With age, the older child naturally has the advantage in size, speed, skill and experience. Despite a younger child’s best efforts, they are much more likely to get left behind, which leads to frustration and upset. As a parent, I’m sure you know this scenario well, and how it ends! The key is to find a way for the children to move at their own pace and skill, and still be able to access and enjoy the activity on offer. The solution is focusing on fundamental skills and scaling.

Here are our tried and tested sibling sports recommendations:

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is one of our top picks for siblings because it isn’t about beating anyone other than themselves.

A five-year-old and a ten-year-old can work on the same skills, including but not limited to balancing, rolling and jumping, each at their own pace, and nobody has to lose. It builds strength, coordination and body awareness, which transfer to almost every other sport they’ll try.

We also love the confidence boost. The older child gets to show off what they can do and support the younger one, so they both get a sense of achievement when, with the eldest’s help, they finally manage to master the high bar.

Mini HYROX and Functional Fitness

Another firm favourite here at PTC Sports is our Hyrox and Functional Fitness (CrossFit) classes. Functional fitness focuses on everyday movements like running, squatting, jumping and carrying, which increase strength, mobility, agility, problem-solving and plyometric abilities. Hyrox consists of exercise stations like ergs and burpee broad jumps, as well as running – lots of running!

Hyrox benefits include improved stamina, cardiovascular benefits, agility and power. As well as being fun, these activities are easily adaptable and scaled for age and ability. We shorten the distance for younger students and reduce the number of reps at stations, whilst the older children can run longer distances and handle heavier weights.

The best part is that it adapts so easily by age. During partner workouts, children learn to work together as a team, which keeps the competitive edge friendly. This makes it a great early lesson in sportsmanship and communication skills. Pupils learn how to plan how to tackle the workout together while working to their own strengths.

Swimming

Swimming isn’t just a sport. For us, it’s both an essential life skill and a vital survival skill, giving parents peace of mind about their child’s safety around bodies of water. Swimming is a whole-body workout and builds coordination and breathing control.

Swimming lessons are easily adaptable for every age and ability. Siblings may even be able to attend the same lesson or take turns cheering the other on from the side. Time in the pool helps master the art of swimming and, if your budget currently can’t stretch to swimming lessons, simply taking your children swimming at the weekend is still beneficial in developing those key skills.

What about team sports?

Don’t get us wrong, we love team sports, but when siblings are different ages, it can be trickier to organise at home. The older child will usually have the upper hand, which can leave the younger child disappointed and angry. At PTC Sports, sessions are perfectly designed for mixed ages and abilities. This is how we tailor our sessions:

• Change the distance, so the older children shoot from further back
• Change the goals, so the younger one gets a bigger target
• Change the scoring, so passing earns points, not just goals
• Mix the teams, so each side has an equal mix of ages and abilities

Our experts ensure that everyone can access and enjoy the game.

Skills first, scoreboards second

You’ll notice that the sports above focus on skills that last, like balance, strength, stamina and teamwork, rather than simply the end goal or winning the game. That’s what we believe in at PTC Sports. When children learn these building blocks young, they’re better prepared for whichever sport they fall in love with later, whether it’s football, cricket or something we haven’t even heard of yet.

If you’d like your children to try something together, our after-school clubs and holiday camps welcome ages 4 to 12, with a huge range of activities to suit every age and ability. Our qualified, DBS-checked coaches make sure every child is included, so big and small can have fun side by side.

For more information, get in touch at info@ptcsports.co.uk or call 07513 522 896. We’d love to see your family at one of our sessions!