Children are often more active at a younger age. Being active is important for children because it helps maintain a healthy body. It also helps lessen the chances of illnesses. Most importantly, being physically active can ensure a healthy mind.
According to NHS, ‘Children ages five to eighteen need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day’. This can be broken down into a small number of light exercises, and a few minutes of moderate or intense activities, such as bike riding or playing soccer.
Why Physical Activities with Kids?
Physical activities play an inevitable role in the brain, intellectual, muscles, and body development. It ensures the smooth regulation of blood and helps nurture the mood of the body.
It not only helps in development but also aids in the psychological way of living. It builds trust, skills, patience, endurance, and a challenge-taking perspective of life that is necessary to develop to be successful in life. It improves the creativity level and the spirit of learning more.
Fun Physical Activities to Do with Kids
Physical activities can be done both at home and outside. You can make memories with your kids by playing with them and spending your leisure time with them. You just have to decide whether you're going to play indoors or outdoors.
Once you decide, we've compiled a list of amazing fun physical activities for you to play with your kid and make memories.
Below are some fun physical activity ideas to get your child to be more active at home as well as outdoors.
Activities at Home:
Backyard Frisbee and Catch
Jump Rope
Build An Obstacle Course
Soccer Ladder
Statues
Three Legged Race
Balloon Competition
Outside Activities:
Hiking
Sports
Rollerblading
Bike Riding
Foursquare
Bike Riding
Activities At Home
Backyard Frisbee and Catch
Playing catch or frisbee with your child is a perfect way to avoid tiring yourself out. It will save you from back pain and help your child be active while they run around picking up the stray frisbee or ball.
Jump Rope
There are many variations of jump rope games that can keep your child busy. They can jump by themselves and practice different tricks like doing a 360° while jumping. (Just make sure they are careful).
There are also group games your child can play with their siblings or friends. For instance, if you have a longer rope, two people can spin the rope while the others try jumping in and out without stopping, and then switch.
If your kids are a little younger, a safer game they can play is Helicopter. Gently swing the rope in a circular motion while you stand in the middle, and let your child jump before the rope reaches them.
Build an Obstacle Course
If you don't mind getting a little messy, you can go all out and build a maze or obstacle course and create your own mission-impossible game. You can use easily accessible items like cardboard and toys and build an obstacle course in the house or out in your backyard.
Playing games like these can help your child be active and flexible. It'll also keep them busy for hours on end.
Soccer Ladder
Ladders with rungs are often used during soccer practice to help strengthen foot movement and agility. It is also a great way to keep your child busy and active at home.
Take those outbursts of energy into the backyard and have them move a ball around and on the ladders. It's alright even if your younger children just jump in and out of the ladders, as long as they are still active.
Statues
Statues is a fun game that involves running and acting out fun movements. One person is chosen as a security guard and the rest of the players are statues in a museum. The security guard stands with their back turned at one end of the yard, while the statues stand on the other.
The statues have to make their way to the guard without being caught. The security guard will sing a tune and turn around. That is when the statues need to freeze. If someone is caught, they have to stand next to the security guard, and the other statues have to save them by touching their hand.
Then, all the statues need to run back to the start line while the guard chases them. Whoever is caught first by the guard becomes the new guard in the next game. There is also a Korean version of this game called 'Red Light, Green Light'.
Three Legged Race
All you need for this game is a few legs and a cloth or rope to tie them together. Make the game harder by running through an obstacle course. If you are racing with your child, just make sure your child can match your stride so they don't have trouble keeping up.
Balloon Competition
Having a balloon competition is another activity that doesn't require much effort on your side as a parent. All you need to do is blow a balloon and watch your child spend hours trying to keep it up in the air.
You can also make the game a little trickier by setting the number of times the player can touch the balloon when it's their turn. Make the game funny by prohibiting the use of hands, and make your child think creatively.
Note: Play this game in the backyard or away from sharp objects.
Outside Activities
Hiking
I know what you're thinking. Taking your child hiking means carrying them on your back the whole time. However, as long as you avoid taking your younger children on difficult trails, hiking can be a fun and healthy experience for them.
You can find a great deal of family-friendly trails where you live. Some places also have nature trails where you can learn about nature or go birdwatching. There are also various other types of trails such as biking trails and trails with properly built roads.
Sports
Sports are a great way for your child to do some intense level of physical activity. They are also team games, which can help your child build other skills like communication and teamwork.
Cricket and soccer are good sports to play on cool summer days. Foot volleyball, road hockey, backyard dodgeball, football, badminton, and baseball are good options too.
Rollerblading
You can use rollerblading together as an excuse to spend some time together as a family. If you are looking to make eco-friendly changes in your lifestyle, you can rollerblade to close destinations. Walking is good too, but it isn't as intense of physical activity.
Bike Riding
Like rollerblading, bike riding is something your family can do together. Remember, If you want your children to be active, being an example is important. Encourage your children to be active by exercising with them.
Foursquare
Foursquare is a simple but fun game that requires some chalk, a bouncy ball, and four players. The goal of the game is to advance to the highest level square by eliminating the other players. The highest and lowest squares are diagonal to each other (squares one and four). The ball is served from the fourth square and, the players must bounce the ball around without holding or carrying the ball.
Similar to dodgeball, the player that is hit with the ball or catches the ball is eliminated, and the rest of the players rotate squares until only one player remains.
Activities for Chronically Ill Children
Making sure your child is getting enough exercise can be challenging when it can affect their physical or mental health. There are many different psychological or physical illnesses and disabilities that can make it hard for your child to be as active as others their age.
In this situation, the main priority should be safety. Some parents become overprotective of their children, while other parents overexert them physically so that their child 'fits' in more.
It's best to consult your child's doctor and see what level of exercise they can do. Children with special needs can also have fun and be active while caring for their health too. You can help them build their creativity just by doing a few activities with them.
Takeaway from Sheasmother
If you have trouble getting your child to be active, try considering that the activities aren’t boring to your child, but rather the atmosphere is. Often parents tell their children to go play outside without giving them something to do or someone to play with.
The key to helping children be active is getting them interested in playing and being active. Introduce your child to different sports and games, at school, in clubs, and at home. Although it might be hard to keep up, don’t tell your children to just go play on their own. Instead, tell them about fun physical activities. Interact and play with them. Make exercise fun!
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