With childhood obesity being an ever growing problem it’s important to make sure that your kids lead healthy and active lives. There is a constant stream of media and technology screaming for attention and it can be easy for a child to be more focused of the digital world than real life. Giving your kids the tools to lead an active lifestyle now can set them up for life and playing together with other kids is one of the best ways to burn calories and stretch and strengthen their muscles. There are lots of ways that you can encourage your child to get out and get moving. Here are a few tips and recommended active games for kids for your reference.
Tips and Precautions for Activating Your Kids
1. How to Play Safely Outdoors
It’s important to check out the play areas that your child is about to use. Parks and playgrounds can often have hidden and not so hidden hazards. Here are some things to look out for and be aware of:
- Hard and abrasive surfaces
- Sharps such as glass or needles
- Large or steep drops
- Rubbish and dog feces
- Proximity to traffic and potential hazards
Just because these hazards exist does not mean that your child cannot play there, with the obvious exception of sharps. Small risks are part of normal play, but it is important to be aware of them so you can guide your child.
2. How to Play Safely Indoors
Playing indoors is not without its risks as active play in a confined space poses its own hazards. Things to look out for include:
- Sharp edged furniture and objects may need to be removed or covered
- Valuables need to be moved out of the way and breakables put somewhere safe
- Plate glass windows need to be sectioned off to avoid accidents
3. Set a Good Example
Kids learn by watching the behavior of those around them and showing your children safe and active play and participating in activities with them is one of the best ways to assist them in learning safe active play and exercise. Sitting around watching TV or playing games will give your kids the wrong message about keeping active.
Recommended Active Games for Kids
1. Rolling and Counting
Get crafty and make your kid a set of activity dice. Make two simple cardboard cubes for the dice. One of the dice should have numbers and the other should have action or activities such as, “Spin around” or “Jump as high as you can”. When your kids roll the dice they have to do the activity that it lands on as many times as the number dice says.
2. Disco Dance Off
Dancing is a great exercise for kids. Not only do they get to engage in active play, but they get to have fun and move to the music. Dancing and being silly to music with your little one is a great way to encourage movement and expression. Using songs with actions is a great way to encourage active play and having some friends around, or going to a kids disco at your local play center offers great opportunities for socialization as well.
3. Protect the Mouse
Cat and Mouse is a classic kids’ game where a group of 8 or more kids can participate. One child is the cat and another is the mouse. The other children stand in a circle holding hands and the cat has to try to catch the mouse and it’s the children in the circle’s job to protect the mouse by allowing them to pass under their arms by raising them and lowering them to prevent the cat from following. This game is given many names and subtext but the main benefits of this game are active play and building teamwork.
4. Traffic Light Statues
This is a game for at least 4 kids. One kid faces away from the group at a distance and acts as the “light”. The light yells out green light and the other children have to walk towards them, then when they yell red light the other children have to stop. The light turns around to try to catch kids that haven’t stopped, and sends them back to the start. The kid that makes it to the light first becomes the light for the next game.
5. Kick the Can
Place a can in the center of the play area and one kid has to try to protect the can from the other children who will try to kick it out from the center. The other children hide while the guard counts to 20 and then goes looks for the others. While the guard is searching the hiders have to try to sneak up and kick the can without being tagged. Once the players are at the can, they are home and have to yell out that they are home. If a child is tagged he is the guard for the next game.
6. Cotton-ball Crawl
This game will challenge your kid’s ability to focus and make decisions. Empty a bowl of cotton balls on the floor of a room and place the bowl in another room nearby. Challenge your child to pick up the cotton balls with a spoon and crawl with the spoon to the bowl. The mission is to get all of the cotton balls in the bowl using just the spoon and crawling instead of walking.
7. Color Walk
Get your child to scatter sheets of different colored paper across the floors of a few rooms in the house. If this poses a slip hazard, you can use masking tape or another tape that won’t harm your floors to secure the sheets to the floor. Then challenge your child to move from room to room, only stepping on specific colors. You can make this activity as easy or difficult as you like according to your child’s ability.
8. Room to Room Basketball Challenge
Create a series of makeshift basketball hoops out of buckets and bowls, one or two in each room. Make a soft basketball substitute out of a pair of socks and get your kids to stand at the door way and aim for the “hoops”. Once they get the “ball” in the bucket, they move onto the next room. The first person to complete the circuit wins.
9. Three-Legged Sprint
Get children into pairs, the closer they are to matching in height the better, and get them to stand next to each other. Tie one child’s leg to the other child’s leg, but not too tight. Plan out a race track for the kids to run along. This activity challenges your children’s teamwork and gross motor skills. It works best with at least 3 pairs of kids participating.
Here is an easy active game that kids and adults will enjoy. Watch it to promote a healthy and active lifestyle for the youngsters: