Under our current circumstances, many children are stuck indoors. As we know, staying physically active is essential for remaining healthy, particularly for children, who are still growing and developing their bones and muscles.
Are you finding it challenging to keep your kids physically active while they’re stuck indoors? Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Here are some ways you can keep your kids moving when they can’t go outside.
Try Yoga
Yoga has many benefits for children. It’s a good way to maintain or improve your child’s balance, stamina, and aerobic capacity. Yoga is also well-known for reducing stress in both children and adults, and there is evidence that it improves focus, self-esteem, and academic performance in children.
Fortunately, yoga doesn’t require a ton of space or supplies. You can do it right from the comfort of your home on a yoga mat or even the floor. Just make sure that whatever surface you use isn’t slippery.
Try playing Mirror, Mirror with your children. If your children have never tried yoga before, show them a pose and have them copy it. Don’t worry, if you haven’t done yoga before yourself, there are plenty of easy poses to start with. Once your kids have the hang of it, each person can take turns choosing a pose while the others act like a mirror and copy it.
You can click here for some simple poses that you can start your yoga practice with. You may find that your kids love yoga so much, you decide to keep it as part of your routine.
Balloon Ball
Most parents aren’t keen on the idea of throwing balls indoors. Balloons provide a less destructive alternative.
Choose a suitable room, and play a game where the kids have to keep the balloon from falling to the floor. Alternatively, play catch or set up a barrier in the middle so the children can volley the ball over it.
Throw Your Own Dance Party
Children love to dance. Why not have a family dance party? Select music your kids enjoy, add some fun lighting if you have it, and let them go to town.
If you want to mix things up even more, play freeze dance. Put someone in charge of playing and stopping the music. All the players dance until the music stops, at which point they freeze exactly as they are.
If your family enjoys competition, you can play freeze dance with players being “out” if they move when the music stops. Players are eliminated until only one is left. If competition isn’t your thing, just have fun giggling at all the funny poses everyone ends up in when the music stops.
Bring Out Your Inner Crab
Do you remember crab-walking in gym class? Why not show your children how to walk like crabs? You can have races or teach them how to crab carry.
Challenge your children to balance a small object like a bean bag or stuffed animal on their bellies while they crab walk. You can turn it into a game by eliminating players when their object falls, or by seeing who makes it across a finish line first. Players have to stop and place their objects back on their bellies if they drop them.
Break Out The Hula Hoops
Using a hula hoop is a wonderful way to help your children strengthen their cores while they’re stuck inside. As long as you have a large room or even a basement without a lot of furniture or breakable objects, hula-hooping can be done indoors.
Put on some music and let your children spin the hoops to the beat. Have competitions to see who can keep the hoops going the longest, or try having your children spin the hoops with their arms or legs. However you do it, hula-hooping is sure to keep your kids moving.
Experts recommend that preschoolers get an hour and a half of physical activity every day, and older children get an hour of physical activity per day. It can be tough to keep your kids active when they’d rather play video games or watch TV, but it’s important to make sure they stay fit.
Try building physical activity into your home routine by incorporating the above ideas, or get creative and see what other physical activities you can come up with for your kids. Stay active, and we hope to see you back at Bear Paddle Swim School soon.