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Sports

Keeping Kids Active When Stuck Indoors

You don't have to be the Cat in the Hat to stir children off the sofa on those rainy days.

Editor's Note: We figured this might come in handy today and we have already tried indoor sock soccer and have not broken a thing…so far. Enjoy.

Today I would like to talk about keeping kids active when you are indoors. Here are some ideas for when the weather is inclement or you just need to be inside to get work done, but you would like your child to get some activity.

Children Ages 3-5 Years

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We know that the preschool bunch is supposed to get at least 60 minutes of structured and 60 minutes of unstructured physical activity every day. How does a busy family go about accomplishing that? I think it is important to realize that every amount of activity helps. If your child has been inactive for an hour, it is probably time to get moving. I find that if I start an activity to get the television off and get my children off the sofa, they usually end up continuing with something active on their own. Many simple ideas can be found at Head Start’s physical activity website; more specifically you can click on the toolbox and find activities for every day of the month with a monthly theme. Here is the direct link for February.

Here are some of my personal favorite indoor activities for this age group that can be done while you are cooking or cleaning or doing whatever you need to do at the time.

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  1. Roll up some socks and practice your throwing skills…turn to the side, step with the opposite foot, throw, follow through.
  2. Using a balloon or beach ball, practice hitting the ball with different body parts in order to keep the ball off the ground. (I like to add a counting game to this with one point for hitting it with your hand or any part of your arm and two for foot or leg and three for a header—this also works well with the older children helping keep score.)
  3. Have children practice their hopping skills. Help them count how many hops they can do on each leg. Use jumping in-between-create a pattern—two hops, three jumps, two hops.
  4. Using an egg timer or sand timer (my daughter loves this one), flip over the timer and have the child run from where you are to some destination (another room or a front door, for example) as many times as possible before the time is up. Can he/she beat her record the next time?

Children Ages 6-10 Years

This group is supposed to get 60 minutes of exercise every day of the week, just like the rest of us. Again, a good rule of thumb is to get away from the computer, video game or television if children have been doing that activity for an hour at a time and try not to let then accumulate more than two hours in a given day. Like every other age group, small spurts are fine—doing 10 minutes at a time is fine but do try to get some of it to be vigorous. I know some kids are basically in constant motion and it is hard to get them to sit down to eat, but others don’t have that natural inclination and need a little more encouragement.

Here are some indoor activities for this age group.

  1. Dancing: This is a winner at every age group because of the high amount of entertainment and physical activity involved. If you know some moves, try them out and have your child do some moves and try to copy him/her. I am also a personal fan of the Wii Dance Party—if  you happen to have a Wii. Yes, even the boys are likely to give this one a try. Try to find some music your kids like—you can put on a music video channel and have them try to copy the moves on there as well.
  2. Indoor soccer:  It is well worth it to get a soft ball of some sort (Nerf is one type but there are many others) and designate a goal with whatever you have nearby. You can play goalie or have a sibling do it. Help children by making rules that level the playing field, i.e. my 9-year-old plays goalie on his knees while my 6-year-old devises interesting ways to shoot (he usually rewards her with a goal if he thinks her attempts are smart enough, i.e. shooting where he is not).
  3. Twister: Do you have it? I bought the game for $7 at Target the other day. Talk about physical activity! I had forgotten how challenging this one is. My 6-year-old could just barely reach the circles, but it was definitely worth the effort.
  4. Bean bag bocce: Most of you probably know the bocce ball game from playing or seeing it on the beach around here. It is played with wooden balls where each player tries to get closest to a mark, usually a smaller ball that is thrown to start with. You can do this indoors with bean bags or even socks. Have a designated bean bag (or sock) that is the starter and you or the child throws it somewhere in the house and everyone playing tries to get the closest to it by tossing the bean bags or socks. It is great fun and keeps kids moving as they run to retrieve the items and try again to be the winner. 

Of course getting outside is always great and Belmont Shore/Naples is such an amazing environment. Remember, if you are feeling a little tired and/or overwhelmed, this is probably the best time to get out if you can. You will more than likely feel better, even after a small walk.

Next week, we are back to focusing on you with some of the great activities people are doing in the shore. Until then, please encourage your youngsters to jump around, dance, hop and throw—you will all feel much better by the time you are through!

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