How to get small kids active?

Amy_B
Amy_B Posts: 2,317 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My kids don't appear large to most others, but I know they need more exercise (and the doctor said the same thing). I try to get them to exercise with me, including playing games like Just Dance. However, they give up so easily. They get tired too quickly and sit down. Even when I tell them to go play outside, they usually aren't that active or stop sooner than they should. Any ideas to get them to KEEP exercising and not give up so easily? Hubby said my 4 (almost 5) year old daughter could barely run the bases tonight at t-ball practice. Ridiculous!

They are 7, almost 5, and 3.
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Replies

  • femmi1120
    femmi1120 Posts: 473 Member
    I think the best thing to do would be find some sort of sport or activity they enjoy. Like martial arts or some team sport or dance. Or get a trampoline!!! I have yet to meet a kid who doesn't like trampolines...
  • prettygirlhoward
    prettygirlhoward Posts: 338 Member
    I think the best thing to do would be find some sort of sport or activity they enjoy. Like martial arts or some team sport or dance. Or get a trampoline!!! I have yet to meet a kid who doesn't like trampolines...

    very true and a great idea!
  • wender125
    wender125 Posts: 93 Member
    take them to the park!
  • UrbanRunner81
    UrbanRunner81 Posts: 1,207 Member
    with anything they will build stamina over time. They probably do get out of breath or tired after being active. Let them have time to rest but encourage them to get back up after a bit.

    get out there and play with them, too. Kick a soccer ball around with them. Go on a hike, bring snacks and water.
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
    A trampoline is a great idea!
    Also, the game "Hyperdash" is great for kids....even little ones.
    Do follow the leader and Simon says.
    Have a "dance party." :smile:
    Kickball.
    Tag.
    Make an obstacle course in your loving room with pillows and cushions.
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    Get a fenced in yard and a scary looking dog?

    Playground.
  • Ttopeka
    Ttopeka Posts: 151 Member
    Find something that they enjoy and will WANT to keep doing. A hobby of mine, that children often enjoy, is Geocaching -- it can take you to really interesting places, and best of all, it gets you out of the house and moving. Children often enjoy it because it's kind of like a treasure hunt, because many geocaches are packed with swag (toys, small trade items, etc.) for kids. You will just need to have a handheld GPSr, or a smartphone to download the Geocaching app (costs about $10 -- there are also free versions).

    http://www.geocaching.com/ -- visit there for more info, or to find geocaches near you.
  • momwhosbusy
    momwhosbusy Posts: 154 Member
    Get out and play WITH then outside! My kids love it when my hubby and I play outside with them! Are they competitive? Find something to challenge them to that they can win at. Leave the tv off completely a few days a week, I have a friend who has declared every other day in their home an electronics free day for the adults as well as the kids. Make it fun and they'll want to be active! Crank the music on the stereo and have a family dance night..music always gets my kids moving, especially if i do it WITH them!
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    don't tell them give an example
  • ninaquelinda
    ninaquelinda Posts: 136
    Cut the cable. Kids get lazy if they are glued to the TV. My kids are older and are pretty active but get sucked in by the TV sometimes, when I take it away they get creative and play with each other.
  • AndiJoy812
    AndiJoy812 Posts: 236
    Get a fenced in yard and a scary looking dog?

    I seriously just had my drink of water come out of my nose...too funny! Classic.
  • Nucky719
    Nucky719 Posts: 143
    I think the best thing to do would be find some sort of sport or activity they enjoy. Like martial arts or some team sport or dance. Or get a trampoline!!! I have yet to meet a kid who doesn't like trampolines...

    THIS^^^ Before our trampoline broke my kids would stay on thing all day!
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    I don't have any kids, so basically I have no idea what I'm talking about here.

    Do you live in a neighborhood where there's other kids? When I was a kid I spent my summer nights playing capture the flag with the neighbor kids.

    Also, a game of tag could be fun... You may need to develop handicaps so that the older ones don't tag the little ones and then play keep away. Maybe the oldest has to run backwards and the middle one bunny hops while the toddler can run?

    A family backyard olympics with sack races, three legged race, etc... Might become a tradition.

    Water gun fights?

    I guess it all depends on your kids and what motivates them. Are they competitive? For my youngest brother, who was not an active kid at all, my parents instituted a policy where 30 minutes of bike riding earned him 30 minute of TV time.
  • rscott813
    rscott813 Posts: 16 Member
    I agree my children (ages 9, 6, 4 and 2) received a trampoline for Christmas and have been outside every day that the weather permits. I know it can be expensive, but I must admit I love to get out there on it with them. The park is also a great choice, practicing sports at home. I found that being outside with my children keeps them going longer as well.
  • Sarrisa
    Sarrisa Posts: 1 Member
    Plan a fun obstacle course in the backyard every week and invite a few families with children, compete in groups of children against parents or families against one another. Most children won't stop during an obstacle course where their peers are present.
  • AABru
    AABru Posts: 610 Member
    Get a fenced in yard and a scary looking dog?
    LOL! Love this!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    Dress up like a zombie and chase them.
  • AABru
    AABru Posts: 610 Member
    My kids are 5 and 3. My 5 year old is VERY active, and the 3 year old out weighs him by 6 pounds. We are working on things like short bike rides as a family, walks around the neighborhood. Kicking the ball around. Kickball. Softball. Frisbee. Keep away. pickle in the middle. I have the neighborhood kids over and they run around for no apparent reason...we like to dance to loud music with abandon as well.
    The trick is you have to do it too. My kids try to do zumba wii and yoga with me now. We also talk about red light and green light foods and how we need to eat more green light foods...good luck. remember all kids are different. Just stay relaxed and be consistant. IT's all about reinforcement and training!
  • SofaKingRad
    SofaKingRad Posts: 1,592 Member
    Tell them you're going to get them a new puppy to play with. After they are done bouncing around and jumping in excitement for hours, say "Just kidding!" BAM. They got exercise, they are now deflated and exhausted, and you don't have to buy that puppy. Win-win.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
    I don't have any kids, so basically I have no idea what I'm talking about here.

    Do you live in a neighborhood where there's other kids? When I was a kid I spent my summer nights playing capture the flag with the neighbor kids.

    Also, a game of tag could be fun... You may need to develop handicaps so that the older ones don't tag the little ones and then play keep away. Maybe the oldest has to run backwards and the middle one bunny hops while the toddler can run?

    A family backyard olympics with sack races, three legged race, etc... Might become a tradition.

    Water gun fights?

    I guess it all depends on your kids and what motivates them. Are they competitive? For my youngest brother, who was not an active kid at all, my parents instituted a policy where 30 minutes of bike riding earned him 30 minute of TV time.

    Just had to say, oh yeah!!!! water gun fights FTW!!!

    bike riding! while they're little, up and down the sidewalk is just fine. we bike a lot, my kids are not the sporty type, but like to be active in non-competative ways. frisbee, swimming, biking.
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    I'm a gymnastics coach so I would recommend you begin by taking them to a kinder gym session. It's set up in a safe environment , is often themed and very encouraging and supportive. Most kids love to climb, tumble balance jump crawl etc.
    Gymnastics really is the basis of any other sport they go on to peruse......they don't have to be in a competitive stream, just recreational is awesome!
  • jennieth
    jennieth Posts: 105
    We do not have video games in the house. When we moved a couple years ago we spent extra time finding a house with a very large back yard. The house itself is small but the yard was worth it.

    We make physical activity a family thing. We go on hikes and nature walks any chance we get. We go to farmers markets, flea markets, parks, bike rides, anywhere we can to be outside together.

    We also tried them in every sport until they found ones they liked and wanted to stick with.
  • bcr1559
    bcr1559 Posts: 62 Member
    When my siblings and I were little our parents had us convinced that if we could get salt onto a birds tail it couldn't fly, so we could hold it. It kept us outside forever hunting for birds. I now do this with my son and nephews all the time. It's really fun to watch them sneak around and get so excited just at the idea that it might work. And if the older one doesn't believe you just let them in on the secret. It will be the only time they can play a trick on the others with your permission. Fun all the way around!
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    Oh and I just remembered my Dad was tired of us watching too much t.v ( not much by today's standards- 2hrs of after school programs) . We were ignoring him.
    My brother and I were arguing about channels ( 1 of 4) So he Picked up a knife went to the back of the telly - pulled out the cord and cut the end off it............Not that I'm recommending that..... Outside was so much better!
  • lisitabonita
    lisitabonita Posts: 81 Member
    I am a nanny and have been in childcare for over 10 years. I have found that the best way to engage an inactive preschooler is to make it a game and play with them. Some examples of fun things- tag, hide and seek tag, play with a ball, pretend to be animals (walk like a crab), make an obstacle course, water balloon fights, freeze dance, catch the tail (stick a long towel in your back pocket and they chase you until someone captures your tail), Capture the flag, scavenger hunts, gardening. I could go on all day

    Think about what you did as a child. Jump rope, hula hoops, hopscotch, bike rides, and roller skates are all physical and fun. Show them your old games and things you used to do. Kids have too much tech today and not enough fresh air.
  • jennieth
    jennieth Posts: 105
    Both my girls are in gymnastics and they just love it! They go twice a week and once summer starts we will increase it to three.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    My brother and I were arguing about channels ( 1 of 4) So he Picked up a knife went to the back of the telly - pulled out the cord and cut the end off it............Not that I'm recommending that..... Outside was so much better!
    If you're not recommending that, I will! :bigsmile:

    I'm getting far more exercise now I no longer have a working television, I didn't bother to retune it when the frequencies changed when we went digital as I hadn't watched it for over a year.

    Plus I will be saving myself £145 a year from now on! :)
  • FixItDuck
    FixItDuck Posts: 112 Member
    Make it fun! We all enjoy physical activity more if it's fun.

    Going outside and joining them helps too. If we send the kids outside to play, they are back inside every 5 minutes.

    My kids are pretty active, but even they have started to get a bit to keen on sitting in front of the TV.

    Some of the active things we do are...
    * shuttle runs on the back lawn - we don't call them shuttle runs, and instead of only running, we mix it up with walking backwards/sideways; jumping, rolling and I do it too.
    * I drew around a gingerbread man cookie cutter onto cardboard and cut them out, then I hide them around the garden and tell the kids to go find them - keeps them busy for a while
    * we just go them both scooters today and that kept us all busy all afternoon!
    * get them to help with the gardening or housework
    * walk to the park
    * my 4 year old loves to go for a bike ride with me or his dad (2 year old hasn't worked out how to ride her bike yet)

    Make sure they have things to do outside - balls are great, they can practice throwing, catching, bouncing, kicking, rolling....
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    Hubby said my 4 (almost 5) year old daughter could barely run the bases tonight at t-ball practice. Ridiculous!

    As someone who coaches that age that would have me worried. I can't get my kids to STOP running around the bases. I have one little boy who is slow as molasses but he still enjoys running around.

    How much TV do they watch? Do they have bikes?
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,317 Member
    They watch WAY too much TV honestly. I kind of like the idea that one poster said about earning TV time by the amount of active time they get in. I know we need to monitor TV/gaming time a lot better.

    Lots of good ideas here! Thanks!


    (Oh, we do have a trampoline, but it's one of those little indoor ones. I'm sure I could make a sort of obstacle courses using it...kind of like circuit training.)

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