10 Ways to Keep your Kids and Tweens Active Indoors (and you too! ;-))

As most of your kids and tweens have now gone back to online learning, most athletic activities have been cancelled. Thanks to the pandemic, colder weather and shorter days, snuggling up on the coach to watch TV is even more tempting than usual. But no matter what Mother Nature brings, it’s important to note, that your kids and tweens need to keep moving. There are plenty of fun and creative ways to keep moving our bodies while we spend more time at home.

Here are 10 ideas we’ve come up with to keep our kids physically active and healthy during this time.

1.       Freeze Dance

Who doesn’t love a good old dance party? Shaking it off to a few favourite jams is a sure fire way to get your kiddos off the couch. To brush up on listening skills, try freeze dance. When the music plays, dance and when the music is stopped, everyone freezes. Simple.

2.       Hula Hoop

Nothing beats hula-hooping. As long as you make sure that you’re not too close to furniture or breakables. Hula-hooping does strengthen your child’s core muscles. If you’re looking to switch it up, try hula-hooping while walking backwards or spin the hoops around your ankle or arm.

3.       At Home Fitness Workouts

Try one of the many online workouts that keep you and your tweens fit and healthy. This can include virtual yoga classes, workout videos geared towards kids or more! Pop on some active leggings or athletic tops and get moving. 

4.       Hallway Soccer

You don’t need a backyard to play soccer – start by setting up a net on the end of the hallway and placing some masking tape on the floor (make sure it’s the kind that’s easily removable!) Grab a small plastic ball and let the fun begin.

5.       Broom Hockey

Similar to hallway soccer, use masking or painters tape to set up a net on opposite ends of the hallway. Then use small brooms (emphasis on the “small”) Use a tennis ball as your hockey puck and the first team to get ten points wins!

6.       Give them Chores

This won’t be their favourite activity but putting your kids to work doing an easy project will get them up and moving. Assign them jobs such as dusting, doing dishes, wiping tables and counters, or folding laundry. Older tweens can do dinner duty.

7.       Maze Fun

Turn your hallway or living room into a “laser” maze with yarn. Zig zag yarn from different heights and challenge your kids or tweens to get across the hallway/room without touching any lasers.

8.       Track their Steps

Use an app to motivate your kids and tweens to move more during the day. Challenge them to hit a goal every day like a certain number of steps. Check in with them at the end of the day and celebrate their accomplishment. Then, follow up by challenging them to do a little more the following day.

9.       Yoga Jenga

Use a pencil to write down any yoga moves on each Jenga block. Set up the tower as usual, but when a block is pulled out, every player has to do the specific yoga move. If the tower falls down, do the plank for 30 seconds.

10.   Give them Unstructured Play

Rather than re-creating the schedule that they have in school, why not consider giving them time and opportunity to explore and get creative on their own. This can be welcoming for tweens who want more freedom and don’t want to be told what to do. Give them some broad structure such as no screens during certain hours, but then let them choose what they want to do to get moving.

The mental, physical, and other benefits of getting outside are great and essential for kids, however it is limited due to the weather and with the self-isolating we are currently experiencing. Children and tweens need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. You don’t need fancy equipment to stay physically active – just some active gear and a little creativity. 

Regardless of staying active indoor or outdoors, you can find that perfect outfit online at www.papoiya.com and you will be ready for any healthy activity.