6 Fun workout games to play with kids.
As a parent of 2 boys who honestly has never been a keen exerciser and who has struggled with their weight all their lives, one of my priorities for my kids is to make sure they enjoy exercising and to teach them the importance of being healthy and looking after themselves.
If your kid is a keen footballer, gymnast or dancer it’s easy to build these activities into their weeks. If your kids are not interested in sports it’s harder. So if your kids are like mine and haven’t shown any interest in a particular sport then here are some fun kids workout games I play with them.
Remember Active Kids are Healthy Kids and if you want your kids to move more, playing games and activities that encourage them to move is an easy way to make fitness fun.
- Scavenger Hunts –
Kids absolutely love a scavenger hunt. By setting a timer to this game kids will move much quicker and if the items in the hunt are in all the rooms of the house then they will have completed a rigorous workout without even realising.
So I set challenges like; find 20 blue items within 5 minutes, or i give them a list of things that they have to find or ill group the hunt into themes like find me 20 things that have numbers etc…
2. Obstacle Course – What child doesn’t love an obstacle course? Most local parks have outdoor obstacle courses that the kids absolutely love, make it even more fun by asking them to beat you. Joining in with fun exercises will really encourage the kids to participate especially if they aren’t keen. My boys are naturally competitive and as much as i don’t like to think of the sight of me climbing over beams in the local park my kids adore me doing it. So I challenge you to give it a go.
3. Treasure Hunt – This is my kids favourite game and it’s a great workout. I also have the added advantage of being able to use my exercise cubes for this game. (But you can use a piece of paper). I hide the cubes (paper) around the house, the kids have to search for one cube at a time and return to the living room with it. They then have to do the exercise displayed at the top of the cube) or whatever you have written on the piece of paper eg. 10 Star Jumps. Once they have completed this they can search for the next cube (piece of paper). Whoever completes all 6 workout moves first and has brought each cube back to base (living room) is the winner.
I’m not that mean a mum though I do let them have cushion fights. It is one of the best ways to burn off all that excess energy. They love it as they know it’s a treat to get to do it. Its also best to make some rules as cushion fights can quickly get out of hand. It is a great stress reliever for children, but be warned it might cause you stress so set the rules.
4. Cushion Fight – Let me tell you a true story, when my boys were toddlers i had a sofa that all cushions could be removed from and they spent most days taking these cushions off and on and building forts with them, using them as slides, using them as a crash mat and so many other activities, It drove me insane. Once you have picked up and sorted 12 cushions too many times to count, come back and judge me. I sold the sofa and bought a fixed cushion sofa.
5. Balloon Volleyball – Kids just love balloons. This is such an easy game for them to play at home. It is my go to boredom buster as i always have a balloon in the house and it’s an activity they are happy to play with no assistance from me. So it’s a win win for me, I get to make the dinner in peace and they get to exercise whilst having fun.
6. Dance Party – This is the ultimate kids workout. In our house once I say let’s have a dance party. The boys pull the curtains in the living room, bring me the disco light (best £5 ever spent) and put on MTV music channels. We can’t have a dance party without a game of musical statues and to make it really entertaining I usually give them a few glow sticks to have as well.
What kids workout games do you play at home? Let me know in the comment section.