Fitness ideas for kids – Parents everywhere will probably agree that our generation had a much more active childhood because we didn’t have the internet to contend with. As a parent now, you’ve probably worried about your kid spending too much time with a tablet or your phone and not getting enough exercise.
You don’t have to worry, though. We’ve got some great ideas to spark a little movement and you can try them all at home.
It’s a big task getting our kids away from screens, but we can make physical activity more fun and engaging. Keeping children fit and healthy is absolutely paramount for their growth.
So, let’s start the list!
Racing
This is an easy one. Set up a race with a prize at the end for your kid and their pals. You can do this in your garden or around your house if it’s safe.
There are different types, too. Maybe a one-legged hopping race, a three-legged race with a partner, maybe an old-fashioned egg and spoon race!
Any version you set for your little ones will get their legs working and give them a good cardio workout.
Obstacle course
This is a really exciting way to sneak some exercise into your kids’ day. By utilising your furniture, you can create a course indoors or outdoors. You can add a puzzle element as well as things like “the floor is lava” and hop-scotch. Get creative!
You might want to check that you’re doing a good job of getting your child into exercise. Luckily, there are smartwatches for kids that offer fitness tracking features, and we wrote a buyer’s guide for you which you can read here.
Treasure Hunt
This can be enjoyed indoors, outdoors, or a mix of both!
Organise a treasure hunt that spans a big area. All you need to do is hide treats and toys around the place, making sure they’re really spaced out so your children cover that area. Furthermore, if want to know how far your child has gone, we wrote about the GPS feature in a kids smartwatch in our article, here.
Green Fingers
Getting your kids into gardening is a great way to get your kids moving about. If you don’t have a house with a garden, no problem. You need a bag of soil, some pots and some plants of your choice. Get your kids to fill up the pots and get the saplings planted. They’ll be learning at the same time as moving!
Dance
Another simple but highly-entertaining activity for kids. This will give them a good cardio workout.
Find a pop playlist and get moving! If you organise to have your child’s friends around, suddenly you’ve got a party! If you can’t get their pals around, how about some family? Then you’re having quality time as well as exercise!
If you want to monitor your child’s fitness levels, but you’re worried about potential accidents with all this dancing, we think you should check out the Fitbit range for kids, known for being durable and resistant in case of any knocks and bumps.
Walking
Do you have a family dog? You’ve got a responsibility to walk it, right? Get over to the park and teach your pet how to play fetch. If the dog isn’t great at it, you can get your little one to pick up the stick until the pup gets the hang of it!
If there’s no fur baby, no worries. Don’t get in the car next time you need to go to the store for something. Get your sneakers on and walk with your kids and maybe tempt them by saying they can get something nice when you get there.
A fitness tracker will come in handy here. They give you, the parent, a decent idea of how much exercise they’ve gotten that day. This way you’ll know if your efforts are paying off. We found 7 awesome smartwatches for kids aged 8 and over that will encourage them to become more active and you can read about them here.
Hula Hooping
Kids think hula hoops are great fun. Get yourself a hula hoop and just watch them go. Teach them how and they’ll be hooked. You’ll probably get a few hilarious videos out of it, too.
Organised Tantrum
Huh? Bare with us. Kids throw tantrums all the time, right? Well, let them have a planned one! Teach them to blow off some steam intentionally whilst they’re in a good mood. Did you know this will help them become mentally healthy as well as physically?
A little jumping and screaming when they’re not in the height of negative emotion will help them to channel their energy better when they’re actually mad. They’ll also be spending all that seemingly never-ending energy they have. If there’s anything pent up in there, all that emotion will come out in a healthy way and you might avoid a meltdown later on. Win-win.
Tag, You’re It!
Chasing your little darling around will give them an absolute thrill. If you catch them, they’re ‘It’ and it’s your turn to run. This will get you both going. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. Again, if you’re nervous about the more potentially-chaotic activities and you don’t want them to break anything, we recommend some nifty waterproof smartwatches for kids, here, should any puddles suddenly become an attractive option for running through.
Summary
This list is just the start of so many options you can take for keeping your kids entertained as well as active. They all have the added bonus of sharpening their cognitive skills and improving their mental wellbeing, which is equally as important.
The trick to getting this right is making exercise and movement as fun as you can. You’ll end up having some fun, too. You can work out in the comfort of your own home or in the great outdoors, even if that’s your front yard. You’ll see the enthusiasm on your kid’s face no matter what because they’ll love spending time with you, too.
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