Games help kids burn off energy and develop new skills. Physically active games provide a fun form of exercise so children will stay fit. Alabama Cooperative Extension reports that one out of every five children between the ages of 6 and 17 is overweight. Encouraging your children to play physically active games can help combat this trend.
Obstacle Course
Children will enjoy designing their own backyard obstacle course. Adults can help out to ensure the obstacles don't pose hazards. Some obstacles you might suggest include a slalom course around tree stumps, cones or boxes; a limbo pole; a water or sand pit for kids to jump across. You could use a baby pool or sand box for the latter. You can incorporate challenges such as "Stop and do 10 jumping jacks" for parts of the course. Kids can hold timed races or judge for style in surmounting the obstacles.
Tag
Running games like tag burn off plenty of energy and need no special equipment. Introduce children to basic tag, then allow them to make up their own versions. In freeze tag, one child is "it." She chases the other children and tries to touch them. A touched child has to freeze until a free child touches her, unfreezing her and allowing her to run again. In another version, instead of freezing, the person tagged becomes "it." In a version of tag called "The Blob," when the person who is "it" tags someone, the two join hands. Now both can tag others. Each tagged person becomes part of the group but only the end people can tag others. The blob can also surround others. The object is to make everyone part of the blob.
Ball Games
Ball games burn calories and foster teamwork. Games such as kickball, softball and basketball require minimal equipment. You can play them in the backyard, with everyday items as bases. Volleyball, soccer and tag football are other options. Kids can choose sides by drawing numbers from a hat—odd numbers on one team, even on another. This helps insure no child is left out.
Relays
As with tag, children can make up many variations of relay races. Classic relays involve passing a stick between members of a race them, but variations can use balloons, fruit and even eggs. Children can test their coordination by decreeing the relay must be run backwards, or while crawling on their knees, that they must do the relay in pairs. Pair younger or smaller children with older children and encourage them to work together.
Jump Rope
Jumping rope provides aerobic exercise and, while it can be enjoyed in groups, it's also an activity children can do on their own. Classic jump rope rhymes often involve spelling out words or names or counting to see how many repetitions a child can do. Jumping with two ropes—double dutch—requires even more skill.
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