'LazyTown' is basically about motivation. So what do I call motivation? I call it 'go.' The show is going to inspire kids to go. Go fishing. Go dancing. Go live.
— Magnus Scheving
There's a lot of things I want to do. I want to learn Italian. I want to learn to play tennis better. I want to motivate the world, basically.
The biggest thing you can give a kid is self-esteem, so that they're not shy to do different things.
'LazyTown' is on a mission to move the world to be a healthier place. When we get kids moving, we get their families moving. And when families move, we are one step closer to moving the world. Move the body, move the mind, every day.
Health is never going to go out of fashion.
Mums ask me how to get their husbands off the couch as well as asking me to marry them. But kids ask me to get their mums and dads to play with them more as well.
I realised there were no good role models for kids. Popeye eats spinach, but also smokes and hits people.
The worst mistake you can make with children is to talk to them in a condescending, patronising way and think that you can teach them something. You have to understand that it is you who will be learning from them. You have to get into their world and see things from their perspective.
If parents could just get their children moving around in the most simple and fun ways - jumping in leaves, dancing to pop music, throwing socks in a laundry basket - they could be sowing the seeds of great habits that could last a lifetime. It is all about turning it into a game.
I'm happiest when I'm moving.
I learned that there are two things that kids really like: movement and love. Happy kids move; unhappy, they don't move.
My philosophy is 'learn while you live.' 'LazyTown' is about balance. I'm not there yet.
My boy and I move. We have this game where if we dress in a particular item of clothing, we have to do a different movement. A hat means 20 jumps - that sort of thing. When I put a scarf on, my son has to drop down and do push-ups, immediately. He thinks it's really funny.
Getting kids moving is a key factor in tackling obesity and health problems among the young.
LazyTown' is not a TV property, but a lifestyle brand for children.
There are lots of things I am not good at. I'm not that good a singer. And I'm a good dad but a lousy husband because I work far too much and am not at home as much as I would like.
There are two types of people in the world. People who like kids, and people who don't. People who complain about kids screaming on aeroplanes and in restaurants, and those people who love kids and enjoy their energy and enjoy hearing the noise they make and get off on their energy. I am one of those people who happens to love kids.
You think aerobics is not a cool sport? I think you are wrong. It requires amazing discipline - flexibility, fitness, knowledge. And you have to do it with a big smile on your face. Also, I once performed in front of 10,000 screaming women. I tell you something, I'd rather do that than kick a ball around in front of a few men.
Children don't really understand the concept of health. You can't give them an apple and say 'if you eat this you will be healthy when you're older' because they don't understand. You have to find a different way to motivate them.
You should never do anything too much. If you only eat healthy food, that is too much. Success is balance - a banker with no time with his kids, he's not successful. If he doesn't have time to walk his kids to school, that is not success - that is a mistake.
I am nearly the worst role model for a healthy person. To me, a healthy person is someone in balance. Sometimes you eat hamburgers, sometimes salad; sometimes you move, sometimes you don't. I eat more healthily than unhealthily, but I do sometimes eat unhealthy food.
I honestly think that kids should not exercise: they should keep fit through play. The most important age is zero to seven, both for the kid and the parent - for parents, because this is the time when your kid learns how to walk, talk and other behaviour.
It's a fact that kids watch TV. But if you think back, when you watched cowboy movies, you would go out and play cowboys. TV and movies motivate people.
My message with 'LazyTown' has always been really simple; I just want to get kids and families moving together.
I've made a profit from everything I have done in life.
At the weekends, I usually have around 50 kids running around in my back garden. They are all friends of my kids. I know all their names. We have barbecues, put up tents, and play soccer. I love it.
Children up to the age of seven are like sponges. They look up to adults and copy what they do. So I thought if I could create a positive role model - a superhero, if you like - who moves around and has a balanced lifestyle - then they would be motivated to move more.
When I was a little kid growing up in Iceland, I always dreamed about creating something that could have an impact on the whole world, and even as a young boy I was passionate about fitness and sports.
