Exciting exercise ideas for kids to keep them healthy and active:
Moving your body and being active is really important for kids. It’s not just good for your body, but also for your brain and emotions. It helps you focus better and feel happier.
For kids under 6 years old, it’s good to play and be active often during the day. Older kids and teenagers should try to do at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Even though schools and sports can help you be active, finding ways to exercise at home can sometimes be tricky.
While it’s good to exercise, you can also exercise too much. If you’re a parent, watch out for signs that your child might be exercising too much, like not being interested in activities anymore, feeling tired all the time, feeling sad, or getting tiny breaks in their bones called stress fractures.
The experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that kids between 6 and 17 years old should aim for about one hour of active play each day. This can include activities that get their hearts pumping and exercises that make their muscles strong.
Exercise Games for Kids
1. Push-ups
Try these push-up challenges to get everyone moving. You can also do a fun version called “popcorn push-ups”: Put a small bowl of popcorn on the floor, lower yourself down, and stick your tongue out to grab a piece of popcorn with each push-up.
2. Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks are easy to do and great for making your body work together. If my kids can’t fall asleep, I have them do 25 jumping jacks to help them get tired.
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3. Headstands
Doing headstands is a cool way to make your tummy muscles strong and make more blood go to your brain. Kids are often really good at them!
4. Animal Races
Jump like a bunny or hop like a frog, waddle and squat like a duck, and so on.
5. Follow the Leader
Make the exercise more fun by being the leader and doing energetic moves like jumping, stomping, and squatting.
6. Freeze Dance
When the music suddenly stops, stay frozen in your position until the music begins playing again
7. Hot Potato
This game is a lot of fun and will make everyone laugh! You just need a soft ball (not a hard one!) or a rolled-up sock. Toss it to a child and tell them to quickly toss it to someone else. Everyone keeps doing this. When does the game end? No one knows! Just keep passing it around!
8. Duck, Duck, Goose
In this game, everyone sits in a circle. One person walks around the circle, tapping everyone’s head and saying “Duck.” But when they say “Goose” instead, the person who was tapped needs to quickly stand up and chase the person who did the tapping. The goal is to catch the person before they find an empty spot to sit down in. It’s like a fun game of tag with a twist!.
9. Yoga
My kids in school really like Cosmic Kids Yoga, which you can find on YouTube and other places to watch videos. But you don’t even need a special program. Just sit and stretch with them. It’s even good for adults too, as stretching and taking deep breaths is healthy for everyone.
10. Slide Around in Socks
If your home has floors made of wood, you can put on socks and slide around like you’re skating. You can try spinning, stopping like hockey players, or even see who can slide the longest. You can make it even faster by putting some wax paper under your socks. Just be careful with furniture and watch out for splinters!
11. Parachute Fun
Remember the big parachutes at gym class? You can make your own version at home using bed sheets. Each person holds an end and lifts it up like a parachute. Kids can take turns running underneath and have a lot of fun.
12. Freeze Dance
Dance around while the music plays, but when the music suddenly stops, everyone has to freeze in place. If someone moves during the freeze, they have to do ten jumping jacks. We like dancing to songs like “Baby Shark” and “Try Everything” by Shakira. You can also add a fun twist by shouting a word for everyone to act out after freezing.
13. Plank Race
Get into a plank position in a line on the floor. When someone shouts “GO,” the person at the back of the line stands up, runs to the front, and gets back into a plank. Then that person shouts “GO,” and the next one in line does the same thing. Keep track of how fast you all go. Try to beat your own time the next time you race. You can even give a high-five to the person in front before getting back into the plank. It’s a fun challenge!
14. Clean and Play Game
Cleaning up the house can be a fun way to stay active and get things tidy. Make a game out of it! Challenge everyone to clean up a room before a song ends. If you finish cleaning in time, the kids win, and they get a treat. You could read aloud their favorite book as a reward.
15. Blindfold Bell Tag
In this game, one player is blindfolded and tries to catch the others. The twist is that one of the other players holds a bell and passes it to different people to keep the blindfolded player on their toes. The person with the bell can’t stay still or stop the bell from making noise.
16. Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button?
Gather in a circle and pass a button secretly between players’ hands. The person in the middle has to guess who has the button. Once they guess right, the player with the button tries to run to a specific spot while others chase them. If they’re not caught, they keep the button.
17. Egg Race
Balancing a hard-boiled egg on a teaspoon, walk around the house. You can go up and down stairs or move through rooms. If someone drops their egg, they have to eat it!
18. Piggie in the Middle
This is a favorite basement game. Two players toss a ball back and forth while the third player in the middle tries to catch it. It’s all about quick moves and fun teamwork.
