Kids fitness

This year worldwide kids are mostly home schooled and are staying home to be safe. Obviously, parents are not encouraging kids to play with friends or there is no playmate for kids due to ongoing pandemic scare. Kids may not like it as they miss their friends to play.  No matter what, parents need to focus on kids health and fitness. If you have not already, plan on it and act.

When kids cannot step out, you can use items on hands, at home to encourage kids to do some physical activity every day. If you don’t have physical activity equipment or tools, use the items that are at home and give an outlet for your kids to explore, play and enjoy.

1. Physical activity bingo: Create a bingo with physical activities using kids games and exercise. Use yoga poses, squats, push-ups, running, hide and seek, jumping jacks etc using coins. When a kid has bingo, let other do a circuit workout with all those activities mentioned in bingo.
2. Traditional games: Introduce kids to traditional mind games. Snake and ladder, Chess, ludo, carrom, pebble game, bead game (cheenemane, ali guli mane)- these games helps kids to think and act cautiously.
3. Play relay: Within your yard, kids can play relay. To make it fun, have them dress up on top of their regular dress and ran back to starting point.
4. Agility ladder: Make use of agility ladder concept. Prepare agility ladder using towel, rope etc and let kids play. This improves their speed, agility, strengthens legs and muscles. It improves brain health.
5. Homemade paint: Give food colors, flour and water. Let them prepare different types of paints. Have them paint items like waste old boxes.
6. Creative boxes: Have them make car, house, bird nest, pet house, mailbox etc. using cardboard boxes and old newspaper.
7. Clay art: Get clay and play with it. Let them make something out of it. Leave it to their imagination and tell them to present it.
8. Yoga poses: Kids body is flexible. If you introduce them to yoga at young age it helps them to stay balanced, healthy and fit. You can have them try different yoga poses every day.
9. Weight lift: If you don’t have weights at home, no problem. Instead, have kids lift small soup cans, water bottles, books and walk around or do weigh lifting. This strengthens their week hands.
10. Healthy snack preparation: Meal and snack preparation is an exercise. Let kid chose what he wants. Together you can cook or prepare healthy snacks.

To keep your child fit:

• Reduce TV, screen time
• Discourage screen time except for virtual classes and reading.
• Let them get up and move around house every two hours.
• Keep kids activities fun and have other family members join to make it enjoyable.

Image credit: Photo by Tatiana Syrikova from Pexels