How to get small kids active?

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  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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: 2,323 Member
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    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.)
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,323 Member
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    Do you think little kids could use light handweights (1-2 pounds)? I am trying to come up with a circuit program that they would think is fun. They are always trying to pick up my heavier weights.
  • mumof5
    mumof5 Posts: 328 Member
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    no exercise no tv, ipods, electronics etc... dont make it that boring to them, dont call it exercise, make it a game with electronics as a reward. limit tv to 1/2hr each a day. if they tire easily is it because they are unfit?? are they unfit because they don't eat the right foods for long lasting energy?? do they get enough quality sleep?
  • mumof5
    mumof5 Posts: 328 Member
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    Do you think little kids could use light handweights (1-2 pounds)? I am trying to come up with a circuit program that they would think is fun. They are always trying to pick up my heavier weights.

    no, never. this will stunt their growth and could do a lot of long term damage. google it. your child should be on the other side of puberty before picking up a weight. you can invent loads of circuits with out weights.

    ie the game is to see how many different things they can do before forgetting. we start with 1.
    1.run to the back gate and touch it.
    2. run to the back gate, do a star jump, touch the gate.
    3. run to the back gate, do a star jump, touch the gate, run around the house.
    4. and so on, just add one until they forget a step then they are out.

    musical chairs, we use coloured spots - its a version of twister, the tramp never gets boring, bikes, swings at the local park, treasure hunts...
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,323 Member
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    no exercise no tv, ipods, electronics etc... dont make it that boring to them, dont call it exercise, make it a game with electronics as a reward. limit tv to 1/2hr each a day. if they tire easily is it because they are unfit?? are they unfit because they don't eat the right foods for long lasting energy?? do they get enough quality sleep?
    I do need to work on their diet some too, especially breakfast snacks (they eat actual breakfast at school). I am going to get snack bags today to fill them up with fruits and veggies and healthy snacks.
  • jesska812
    jesska812 Posts: 102 Member
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    Maybe rather than focusing on kids exercising focus on your kids playing and being kids. When I was young I didn't exercise I was just playing. If it helps your schedule to have specified exercise times for the kids try signing them up to something fun that they can keep up when they're older like martial arts or gymnastics. I do Taekwondo and the discipline it has given me as I've gotten older is wonderful.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    Do you think little kids could use light handweights (1-2 pounds)? I am trying to come up with a circuit program that they would think is fun. They are always trying to pick up my heavier weights.

    no, never. this will stunt their growth and could do a lot of long term damage. google it. your child should be on the other side of puberty before picking up a weight. you can invent loads of circuits with out weights.
    But if they want to "play" weights with you, make some out of the insides of toilet rolls for them to use. No harm at all in that! :)
    ie the game is to see how many different things they can do before forgetting. we start with 1.
    1.run to the back gate and touch it.
    2. run to the back gate, do a star jump, touch the gate.
    3. run to the back gate, do a star jump, touch the gate, run around the house.
    4. and so on, just add one until they forget a step then they are out.

    musical chairs, we use coloured spots - its a version of twister, the tramp never gets boring, bikes, swings at the local park, treasure hunts...
    That sounds like a fun game, maybe I'll do that myself! :bigsmile:
  • goofyrick24
    goofyrick24 Posts: 125 Member
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    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.

    Invite over more of their friends that are more active... My son had the same problem until I got him to hang out with my friends child who is extremely active.. I've never seen him move so much and not stop just to keep up... unfortunately Peer pressure works!!
  • penny39
    penny39 Posts: 266 Member
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    All great ideas, also Summer is coming up and all of your local libraries should have Summer Reading programs planned1 It will encourage them not only to read during the summer but if you take your kids to the programs very many of them are interactive and so much fun! This years theme is Dream Big, Read! A lot of the programs are going to be based on Night games and activities!
  • sassytwo
    sassytwo Posts: 19
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    I have to second the person who said geocaching. If you have a smartphone, you can download a free geocaching (intro) app to get started. That worked just fine for us in the beginning. We went to a park the other day that has 24 caches. My husband and I estimated that our 4 year old and 7 year old each walked about 4 - 5 miles. I carried the 4 year old for maybe 2 blocks of that. When we go to the playground at the park near our house, the 4 year old told me she wanted to go find the cache on the other side of the lake instead of swinging.

    We also have a mini trampoline in the house. Best gift Santa ever left ;) I keep it in the livingroom. Yes, there is a pink camo tramp in my pretty livingroom. I think that since they walk right by it all the time they are inclined to stop and bounce. I make active games out of all sorts of things with it. For example, I'll tell them to pick up their shoes, run to the tramp, jump 10 times and then go put their shoes in their closets.

    We also do LOTS of obstacle courses. I think the key thing with those is to let the kids help build them and time them. I never ever compare the older one's time to the younger one's. I stress that they are to try and beat their own fastest time. You would be surprised at how many times that will keep them running around again and again and cheering for each other.

    We have family Nerf gun fights too. As long as my husband and I are playing and chasing them around like big goofballs, they will run like crazy.

    I'm pretty hardcore about tv watching and game playing. They are limited and know that when I say time's up, they have to turn the electronics off. After awhile, I was pleasantly surprised at how they sense when they've had enough and turn them off on their own.
  • GemmaRowlands
    GemmaRowlands Posts: 360 Member
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    Build exercise into your everyday lives. Walk to the shops, go on bike rides, buy a trampoline, organise skipping games in the garden, ANYTHING to get them moving!

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