Keep Your Kids Active This Winter

The cold winter weather can often bring our outdoor activities, and even our exercise routines, to a grinding halt.  Unless you or your family enjoy cold weather sports, getting outdoors to exercise and play can be difficult in the winter.  However, this is an opportunity to use your creativity and reconnect with your children by making your house a prime location for active games, obstacle courses, dancing, and more.    

Regardless of the time of year, government health experts recommend two hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate-level physical activity for adults and 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous-level physical activity a day for children.  If you are finding it difficult to achieve that much physical activity per day without getting outdoors, check out a few of these tips for you and your family:

Make space, get creative!
Transform a room in your house into an activity space for the day by moving furniture to make as much empty space as possible. Now, get creative – explore music from different cultures and try out different types of dance.  Incorporate “freeze dance” rules by having everyone stop and freeze when you pause the music.  Take turns being the DJ.  

Try do-it-yourself hopscotch.  Use masking tape to tape out boxes on the floor to form a hopscotch grid.  Use a bean bag or pair of rolled up socks as the marker. Take turns throwing the marker on the hopscotch board and on the way back, each player will need to pick up the marker.   

Make dodgeball an indoor-friendly game by using balloons.  Draw a line in the middle of the room using masking tape and give each side five blown up balloons to try to hit the opposing side. Or, throw the balloons in the air and try not to let them hit the floor. For an added challenge, use only your feet, legs, or elbows to keep the balloons from hitting the ground.  By sitting and using only your feet or legs to keep the balloons in the air, you will fit in an ab workout without even realizing it!

Rent exercise DVDs from your local library and use it as a way to try new exercises you wouldn’t normally do with your family.  Make an obstacle course through a pretend mountain and let your imagination run wild.  Use a shoebox as mountains to jump over, a sheet as a lake to swim through, and strips of masking tape as tall grass to weave through.   

Play games that make you move!
Not all games require you to sit in order to play. Try games like Twister and Hullabaloo, which are a fun and active alternative to more traditional board games.  Video games, such as Wii Fit and Dance, Dance Revolution are a fantastic way to get your heart rate up and have a little fun with your family.

Find indoor areas that encourage activity!
Need to get out of the house?  There are plenty of indoor facilities where you can get some physical activity.  Head to the mall to go for an indoor walk or find a local roller-skating rink.  Explore your community to find indoor mini-golf, bowling alleys, children’s indoor gym classes, indoor playgrounds, or your local YMCA.  

 
Getting active indoors can be a fun and creative way to reconnect with your kids, and your imagination. These ideas will help you and your family achieve the daily recommended amount of exercise, and have fun, too!