Being home all day with the kids, who are often glued to their devices can be a challenge.
Kids need to move on a regular basis and so do you.
Exercise is vital in our current situation with Coronavirus as it improves our immune system.
It also …
- Improves our mental state & mood
- Helps reduce stress
- Calms the mind
- Keeps the body relaxed
- Reduces muscle & joint pain and tension
- Gives an energy boost
- Helps with bone and muscle health
Getting the kids to move regularly doesn’t have to be difficult, in fact it can be fun!
Here are some ideas to get you both moving while you’re stuck inside!
- Have a planking competition.
Most kids can do a plank either on their knees or full plank on the toes. Either with straight arms or elbows on the floor. See who can hold the longest! This improves core and upper body strength - Musical Chairs
A popular game at kids parties. Place some chairs around the room, with one less than there are people. Start to play music and have everyone walk around the chairs until you stop the music. When the music stops everyone must rush to find a chair to sit on. This will get you walking and maybe running to find a chair! Great for some fun if you have enough space! - Play Simon says HITT Class
Show them the different exercises you will be doing when you say “Simon Says”
EG Simon says do Star Jumps. They have to do star jumps until you say. “Simon Says do the next move, or stop and be still (if you see they need a break) This will get the heart rate up!Some exercise ideas are;- Star jumps (legs & arms go out wide and arms go out and out at the same time.
- Sit ups (you can put your feet under a couch or hold each others feet)
- Push ups (they can even be on the wall)
- Squats
- Animal Crawl race
Doing an animal crawl is just like normal crawling on all fours, but take your knees off the ground and stay as low as you can. Go from one end of the room to the other. This is challenging. Watch your knees on this one parents! - Balance competition
See who can stand on one leg the longest. This works the muscles in the legs and the hip and glutes. A great challenge for everyone! To make it more challenging add arm movements while you stand. Or add a single leg squat! - Hopping Race
See who can hop on one leg the longest to get to the other side of the room. If you and the kids can keep going further than the length of the room, keep hopping on the spot while you turn around and go back the other way. Continue to do that as many laps of the room as you can! Now that will be great for leg strength and cardio! - Cleaning room race
Parents you are going to love this one!
Have a race – who can clean their room the fastest and end up being the tidiest! Do you think they’ll fall for it?
So have fun and try to move your body more than the normal recommended 30mins per day if you are stuck inside.
Have fun!
Article written and published in >>> Kiddipedia