Get Kids Active: How to Stay Fit Indoors
Five fun fitness ideas for kids
No more football practice. Dance class is cancelled. The gym is closed. Without regular routines to let off steam, your whole family may be feeling pent up. Only getting out of the house once a day is probably not enough to burn off your kids’ energy, and it may be impacting their behaviour. It’s important to get kids moving and stay active regularly, for everyone’s well being. If you’re wondering how to do that when you’re stuck at home, we’ve got you covered. Here are five fun ideas on how to help kids stay fit indoors and actually enjoy it!
FREEZE DANCE
It’s a classic, and it works. Blast the tunes and designate a DJ. When the DJ stops the music, everyone freezes! Kids will love being the DJ as much as dancing, and it’s a great way to amp up your mood with some upbeat jams. If you wanna boogie even more, why not have an impromptu dance party?
READ IT AND LEAP
Grab a story book and choose a random word that’ll come up often (like “captain” if you were reading a ‘Captain Underpants’ book). Then, every time you read the special word, get your kiddo to leap like a frog, do a star jump, or stretch to touch their toes. It can get really fun when the word crops up a lot! You can also use this same technique with a song and train the kids to do a particular movement at certain lyrics.
PARACHUTE
Grab a bed sheet and have each member of the family take hold of a corner. Then fan the sheet upwards as one person runs underneath. Keep taking turns until everyone is out of breath! You can make it more challenging by throwing a toy in the centre and making each person who runs underneath bend down to grab the toy before they return.
POPCORN PRESS-UPS
Ok, so this one does involve snacking whilst exercising, but it’s super fun! Make a bowl of popcorn and set it on the floor. Have your kids do a press up and stick out their tongue when they get down to the bowl… it’s a yummy reward for every move!
SHOOT AND SCORE
All you need is a bucket or bowl and a rolled-up sock or crumpled piece of paper. Take turns trying to “make a basket”, and when a player succeeds, he or she has to take a step back. Next time, the challenge is harder from farther away. You can also get creative with this and have your kids do 3 big jumps or run up and down the stairs every time they score.
We hope these ideas bring more playfulness to keeping fit, and that they boost your spirits. Remember that we won’t be stuck inside forever, so this is a chance to get creative with new ways to stay active. Have fun and get moving!