🏃♀️ How To Keep Kids Active (Even if You’re Stuck Inside)
At least 60 min/day of physical activity is critical for kids physical and mental development - here's how you can make sure they're still getting that.
👋🏽 Intro
Kids are made to move. With sports practices, recess, and playdates with friends pre-COVID, we didn’t have to think so hard about making sure they’re being active. To top it off, with remote learning and increased screentime, keeping kids moving is now a top concern. Here we consider the basics of staying active, and give you a few options for getting kids (and you!) up and moving.
🤓 Keeping Kids Active 101
1️⃣ Physical activity is key for kids’ health AND mental development. Aim for at least 60 minutes/day. Kids actually learn through physical activity, particularly the youngest ones. The littlest kiddos should be moving nearly all the time, while elementary age kids need a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily – things like walking, running, jumping – combined with strength building activities, 3 days a week.
2️⃣That said, any amount is better than nothing. Adults who exercise usually aim for a solid chunk of time for their workouts, but kids (or adults, for that matter) don’t need to put in a half hour or an hour session for it to count. Small bursts of activity like mini walks, a game of tag, a few minutes of jumping jacks: it all counts. Even household chores, like vacuuming or picking up toys, can be added to your kiddo’s 60 minute daily goal.
3️⃣If you do, they will. Most kids will resist drill-sergeant style orders to get active particularly if you’re not offering to get active with them. Make it an efficient 2 for 1 by getting active too. You’ll role model the benefits, feel better, and spend quality time together. Make that a 3 in 1.
4️⃣No sports? No problem - replace with everyday activities. Make the every day packed with activity - obstacle courses, outdoor walks, stairs - they all count and will tire the kids out come bedtime.
5️⃣ Introduce activity encouraging games/ toys. For birthdays or the upcoming holidays, consider replacing sedentary toys with active ones. Even making sure half of the total presents are activity encouraging will go a long way.
The Options
⏳Daily Routine: Focus on 3 times of guaranteed activity baked into the day (See tips on how to create routines here).
🌳Morning walk (15-20min) - if kids are going to school, this can be the walk there. If it’s remote learning, get everyone outside for a walk around the block before settling into morning classes at home.
⚽︎Lunch “Recess” (30min) - Find a block of time for the kids to head to the backyard or nearby park for outdoor free play time. Stuck inside? Set up an area that encourages more active games.
🧘🏽♀️Afternoon/evening yoga or sports (30-45min) - Either before dinner or after, use the last block for yoga or sports time. It’s also a great one to turn into family time. Head to the park with a soccer ball or baseball mitt. Put on a family yoga class via Cosmic Kids or a fitness app like Peloton.
💡Everyday Play: Keep a set of activities top of mind to insert in any of the (many) times during the day you might need to kill 20 minutes. Make it fun and easy by writing a bunch into a jar and having the kids pick one out (Milo users can use the 💡Idea Machine to randomly serve up an idea).
Here are just a sampling of ideas:Turn on some music and have a dance party.
Go on a scavenger hunt or nature walk.
Tag. All the ways to play tag.
Indoor obstacle course.
Create challenge games with your kiddos (see who can step most quietly and keep a balloon in the air for the longest without touching the ground)
Build forts (and the running back and forth for supplies is active)
Play active board games like Happy Salmon
👨👨👧👦Family daily workouts: Make being active a daily family activity.
Set aside 30-45 minutes a day to “workout” together. It could be an obstacle course at the park, a game of soccer, hike or a family bike ride.
The cooler months mean for many of us opportunities to rake leaves and jump into them, go apple picking and pumpkin gathering, hike, go puddle hopping, ski/snowboard, snowshoe, shovel, crunch ice, make snow angels, and have snowball fights.
Stuck inside? A flight of stairs is a workout when you climb and descend it on repeat, a clear hallway can be a jogging track, with you on smartphone stopwatch duty, furniture can be moved to create an open space for jumping jacks, dance parties, yoga, stretching, resistance bands workouts, jogging in places, lunges, etc.
With older kids, you can also turn it into a challenge to see who can go the longest without missing a day or who can run up the most steps/miles/goals.
🧰 The Tools
While screens can be an activity hindrance, they can also be a huge help. Streaming games and videos can be an active lifestyle game changer. YouTube has a wealth of kids’ dance-along videos, PE teachers are posting kid-focused workouts, and the App Store has yoga for kids. For audio, you can use Alexa’s Animal Workout where Alexa tells the kids to be a certain animal ( Say, "Alexa, open Animal Workout.").
Popular go-tos:
Sites with tons of activity ideas:
Wide Open School - Get Moving Activities
Playworks - Game Library
Common Sense Media - Movement Apps, Games and Websites
Washington Post - Physical Activities
🧐 Worth Reading/Watching
WSJ launched their Family + Tech newsletter, by Julie Jargon, a parent of 3 and covering tools and tech for families - sign up here