Toddlers need enough physical activities to explore the world around them, and gradually master walk, run, jump, climb and other basic actions. Looking for interesting and simple sports methods, is not only rely on professional facilities or complex game rules. This article will introduce a serious of fun physical activities suitable for toddlers, enable children move body, exercise sports ability during daily play, also added more fun to parent-child interaction.
1. Sock Toss
Roll a few pairs of clean socks into small balls, then prepare a laundry basket. Let children stand not far from the basket, throw sock balls into it. Can gradually increase distance, make the game more challenging. This activity is simple and interesting, can also exercise children's hand-eye coordination.
2. Bubble Play
Adults blow bubbles, let children chasing bubbles, use hands gently tap to break them. Can also let children try to blow bubbles by themselves. This activity is simple and interesting, can encourage kids to run, reach out hands and jump, exercise physical coordination ability.
3. Tunnel Crawling
Prepare a children's play tunnel, let children crawl from one side to another side. Can also put a loved toy at exit, encourage kids to crawl forward. This activity can exercise children's hand-foot coordination and body strength.
4. Dance Party
Play children loved music, let children freely dance follow rhythm, able to clap, spin, twist body or mark time. Adults can also take part in, simulate children's actions. This activity can exercise children's physical coordination ability, can also let sports become more interesting.
5. Toy Delivery Race
Prepare two baskets, put toys in one basket, let children deliver toys to another basket one by on. Can let children use hands to move toys, can also use small cart to transport. This activity can exercise children's mobility and physical coordination.
6. Hopscotch
Use chalk to draw gird squares, write numbers in the squares. Guide kids jump in the squares on one foot or both feet one by one, avoid the edge line. It is able to adjust gird size, to increase difficulty. This activity can exercise children's balance, body control ability and large muscle movements.
7. Puddle Jumping
Find a small puddle after the rain, put rain boots and raincoats on the children. Encourage kids to jump in and out small puddle carefully, feel the splashing water. Parents need to take care nearby, pay attention to floor anti-slip. This activity is full of fun, can exercise leg strength and physical balance ability.
8. Animal Walk
Parents can speak out different animal names, lead children to imitate corresponding actions: like crab crawling sideways, rabbit hopping, little bear walks clumsily. Can act animals in turn to match together. This activity has strong interesting, exercise children's limb strength, physical coordination and imagination.
9. Tape Road Walking
Use tape to draw winding or straight paths on the floor. Let children walk along tape track, avoid stepping outside the tape. Can design curve, crossroads to increase difficulty. This activity can exercise children's balance ability, physical control and focus.
10. Bean Bag Toss
Prepared some bean bags and a storage basket. Let children stand in the specified location, toss bean bag in the basket. Can adjust the toss distance, or set different targets. This activity is fun and relaxing, exercise children's hand-eye coordination and upper-body strength.
11. Hide and Seek
Parents and children hide and seek in turn. Can simplify rule, toddlers needn't hidden too well. Pay attention to the safety of surrounding environment during playing process. This activity is full of surprise, can exercise children's spatial awareness, running ability, can also develop focus.
12. Parachute Play
Adults and kids catch edge of parachute, shake its surface up and down, can also put small balls on the parachute and shake. It is able to raise high parachute to make “small tent” too. This activity is lively and fun, exercise children's arm strength, teamwork skills reaction rate.
13. Ball Kicks
Prepared a soft ball of the suitable size. Enable kids to kick the rolling ball, parents can help push ball in front of children. Can set simple targets to add fun. This activity is active and interesting, exercise leg strength, hand-foot coordination and physical control ability.
14. Color Sorting
Prepared different colors of soft building blocks, colored balls or cards. Guide kids sort things into the corresponding container according to colors. Can slowly increase types of color to increase difficulty. This activity has both of sports and cognition, exercise fine motor skills of the hands, and recognize colors at the same time.
15. Shadow Catch
In the bright sunshine outdoors, parents and kids chasing each other, try to step on other people's shadow. Can change running speed, can also rotate body to change shadow shape. This game is relaxing and fun, exercise children's running ability, reaction rate and physical flexibility.
16. Obstacle Course
Use cushions, hula hoops, ropes and other things to build simple obstacle track. Let children climb, crawl, step over obstacle to finish process in sequence. Can adjust obstacle layout to change difficulty. This activity is interesting, exercise large muscle movements, physical coordination and judgement problem ability.
17. Laundry Basket Push
Prepared lightweight empty laundry basket, inside can place some soft things. Enable children to use double hands to push laundry basket walking forward on the ground, bypassing obstacles. Focus on levelness of the ground, avoid bumps. This activity is simple and fun, exercise upper-body strength, physical balance and directional control ability.
18. Simon Says
Parents act Simon, say the commands, children need to implement actions only with “Simon Says” beginning, other commands can't implement. Can design jumping, raising hand, spinning and other actions. This game has strong interactivity, exercise children's listening comprehension, reaction ability and physical control.
19. Animal Yoga Poses
Select simple animal yoga poses, such as cat pose, butterfly pose, puppy stretch pose. Lead children to imitate animal molding, keep pose for a moment. Action is gentle and slow. This activity is comfortable and interesting, exercise physical flexibility, balance, can also help children learn focus.
20. Car Wash
Prepared a pot of warm water, sponge and small towel, take out children's plastic toy cars. Let children use water and sponge to wipe, rinse toy cars. Be careful not to get clothes wet while playing. This activity is lively and interesting, exercise hand fine motor skills, arm strength, can also develop hands-on awareness.
21. Catch
Prepared lightweight and soft small balls. Parents gently toss the ball toward the children, encourage children to reach hands to catch. Beginning distance is close, then increase the distance slowly. This activity is simple and fun, exercise hand-eye coordination ability, reaction ability and upper-body control ability.
22. Stepping Stone Trail
Use thick cardboard or anti-floor floor mats to act stones, place a small path on the ground. Enable children only step and walk forward on the “stone”, can't step ground. Can adjust distance to increase difficulty. This activity is challenging, exercise balance ability, physical control and focus.
23. Music Parade
Play cheerful music, let children follow rhythms to freely walk, swing, tread. Can walk and play with tambourine, maracas and other simple musical instruments. This activity is lively and interesting, exercise sense of rhythm, body language ability, unleash energy.
24. Fill the Bucket Water Game
Prepared small cups and bucket. Let children use small cups to scoop water, transport from a place into bucket, fill the bucket with water. Can designated route, carefully avoid slipping. This game is cool and fun, exercise hand control, arm strength and hand-eye coordination ability.
25. Follow the Leader
Parents or kids as team leader in turn, leader perform walking, jumping, bending over and other actions, other people follow and imitate. Can continuously change actions to increase fun. This game has strong sense of interaction, exercise body coordination, observational skills and imitation ability.
26. Paper Airplanes
Use light and thin paper to fold paper airplane. Let children throw the paper airplane with force, observe airplane's flight path. Can adjust airplane molding together. This activity is full of fun, exercise hand fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and upper-body strength.
27. Long Jump
Use tape to mark take-off line on the ground. Guide kids keep feet together, bend knees to jump forward, see how far they can jump. Be careful to choose soft floor, to protect children. This activity is full of challenge, exercise leg strength, body coordination and explosive force.
28. Digging for Treasure
Prepared sand basin or container filled with rice, hidden small toys inside. Give children small shovel, let children dig and find out hidden “treasure”. Remember to clean after playing. This activity is novel and interesting, exercise arm strength, hand fine motor skills and tactile perception.
29. Stuffie Wagon Ride
Prepared children's trailer, put on children's loved plush toys. Let children pulling the trailer and walking on the ground, bypassing simple obstacles. Pay attention to control speed to avoid rollover. This activity is relaxing and interesting, exercise lower-body strength, body balance and direction control ability.
30. Yoga
Select simple and soothing yoga actions, lead children to stretch limbs, stretch body, with steady breath. No necessary to pursue action standard. This activity is quiet and relaxing, exercise physical flexibility, balance ability, help children calm down.
31. Freeze Tag
One people responsible for chasing, the children who ware caught stop actions “frozen” in place, partners can run over and touch to rescue frozen person. Control running range, avoid collision. This game is lively and interesting, exercise running ability, reaction rate and limb control ability.
32. Kick Bowling
Use empty plastic bottles to as bowling and set in place, prepared soft ball. Enable children use feet to kick rolling ball to knock down bottles. Can adjust bottle distance. This activity is fun and entertaining, exercise leg strength, coordination ability and physical control ability.
33. Leaf Play
Collect various leaves that fallen outdoors. Enable children scatter fallen leaves, gently step in the leaf pile, can also pick up leaves to classify. Be careful no insect and sharp things in the leaves. This activity is close to nature, exercise large limb movements, tactile perception and observational skills.
34. Keep the Balloon Up
Blow up a light balloon. Let children use hand, head or tapping method to continuously hit balloon, don't let it fall to the ground. Support multiplayer play together. This activity is relaxing and fun, exercise reaction rate, hand-eye coordination ability and limb control ability.
35. Pillow Walk
Lay pillows flat on the ground to form a path. Let children step on the pillow and walk forward, feet can't touch floor. Can increase difficulty with adjusting distance between pillows. This activity is safe and interesting, can exercise balance ability, limb control and focus.
36. Avoid the Shark
Use tape to build an island area on the ground, one people act shark. Kids should keep on the island, when shark closing, kids quickly run to another safe area to avoid. Pay attention to running safety. This game is full of imagination, exercise running ability, reaction rate and spatial judgment ability.
37. Action Songs
Play nursery rhymes with body movements, lead children to follow lyrics to perform the corresponding actions, such as clap, stomp feet, twist body. It is able to sing and move with kids together. This activity is cheerful and interesting, exercise sense of rhythms, limb coordination ability and auditory comprehension ability.
38. Hill roller
Choose gentle small grassy slope without gravel. Guide children to gently roll on the soft grassland, parents take care and protect on the side. don't choose steep slope. This activity is full of fun, exercise physical perception, limb coordination and core strength.
39. Beach Ball Blanket Toss
Tow people each grab both ends of big blanket, put beach ball in the middle of blanket. Shake blanket up and down together, let beach ball bounce up, try to avoid ball drop down. Support multiplayer to participate. This activity has strong sense of collaboration, can exercise arm strength, teamwork and reaction rate.
40. Limbo
Use rope or long stick to set up crossbar. Let children lean backward, crawl under the crossbar, can't touch crossbar. Can slowly reduce crossbar height to increase challenges. This game is full of fun, exercise body flexibility, sense of balance and core control ability.
These interesting fitness games are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. Shouldn't professional gym venues, and complex sports equipment. Each game can enhance children's fitness while playing, encourage toddlers actively move body, develop sports ability during funny experience, fall in love with the feeling of getting moving. Children enhance limb strength and coordination ability through jumping, throwing and balance exercising, parents and children take part in with each other can also increase relationship. Relaxing and joyful sports experience, can also help toddlers build confidence, develop good habits of enjoying activities.
FAQ
Q1: What's the differences in core of physical activity design for toddlers and preschoolers?
The importance for toddler is the basic development of large muscles, activity rules should be simple and short term, aimed at free exploration, not emphasize winning or losing. Preschoolers can increase simple rules, missions and small challenges, add waiting, collaboration games, combine physical fitness with social skills.
Q2: Conduct physical games for toddlers, how long should each suggestion take?
toddler's focus keep a short term, single activity suggested 5 to 10 minutes, one day can divided into multiple rounds. Shouldn't prolonged exercise, fragmented fun activities better suited to toddler's physical characteristics, avoid fatigue and resistance.
Q3: Without gym, which physical activities can conduct in the cramped space?
Preferred choice low-impact activities, such as Animal Walk, Yoga, Pillow Walk, Simon Says, Keep the Balloon Up and so on. Clean sharp sharp objects on the ground before activities, delineate fixed activity areas, to ensure safety.
Q4: Do children's physical activities always require the use of sport equipment?
Needn't. Many high quality games can use family daily items: sock, pillow, cardboard box, tape, leaves and others. Equipment is just an auxiliary, the core target is to enhance fitness, exercise balance, coordination, limb strength.
Q5: Children unwilling to participate in physical activities, how to guide kids?
Shouldn't force. Parents demonstrate personally, play together, decrease difficulty. Package sports into stories and role-play. Offer more encouragement, don't judge action good or bad, protect children's interests in play.
Q6: Outdoor physical games, which safety problems should be paid attention?
Check if the venue has gravel, sharp items. Ground preferred choice grassland, cushion. Control running speed, avoid high-speed chase and collision. High temperature period should decrease outdoor activity, replenish water in time. Clean up after playing water and digging.
Q7: Physical activities in addition to enhance fitness, which development benefits can be brought for toddlers?
In addition to enhance limb strength, coordination, can also exercise focus, spatial perception, reaction rate, increase confidence. Multiplayer games can also learn to take turns, wait, cooperate, promote language and social development.
