Regular physical activity is important for the overall health and well-being of your child. Julia E. Sweet, author of "365 Activities for Fitness, Food, and Fun for the Whole Family: Super Sports, Great Games, Exciting Experiments, and Nutrition Nuggets," writes that children spend too much time inside watching television and playing video games and not enough time exercising. Fitness games are a fun way to get your child moving.
Obstacle Course
With obstacle courses, you can get creative with the activities and can tailor then to your child's interests, says Sweet. You can use whatever supplies and items you have around your house to make your obstacle course, such as hula hoops, rope, cardboard, and balls. Get creative when setting up your obstacle course and change it to keep child interested.
Dynamite Chasings
This game comes from "Family Games," by Kathi Wyldeck and promotes fitness by requiring children to run around trying to get rid of a pretend stick of dynamite. Use a toilet paper or paper towel tube as a stick of dynamite. At the beginning of play, the stick of dynamite is lit and children have one minute to escape being the one holding it. One child is chosen as "it" and is required to hold the dynamite first and tries to tag one of the other children. When a child is tagged, he becomes the new "it" and must tag someone else. At the end of one minute, the child holding the dynamite is out. The game continues until only one child remains and he becomes the winner.
Olympics
Olympics can incorporate a variety of different fitness activities as your child competes against others or against his own times. Wyldeck recommends using activities such as three-legged races, egg and spoon races, and jump roping as good activities for more than one child. Individual Olympic activities can include sit-ups, standing broad jump, push-ups and ball throwing events.
Blob Tag
Blob Tag is a good game for exercise and to encourage cooperation, says Stephen J. Virgilio, author of "Active Start for Healthy Kids: Activities, Exercises, and Nutritional Tips." One player is chosen as "It," and he runs around trying to tag the other players, Each time he tags one, that player links arms or joins hands and becomes part of the "It" blob. Once most of the children have been tagged, the game starts over with a new "It."
References
- "365 Activities for Fitness, Food, and Fun for the Whole Family: super sports, Great Games, Exciting Experiments, and Nutrition Nuggets"; Julia E. Sweet; 2001
- "Family Games"; Kathi Wyldeck; 2008
- "Active Start for Healthy Kids: Activities, Exercises, and Nutritional Tips"; Stephen J. Virgilio; 2006
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