Physical Fitness Activities For Preschoolers

Preschoolers need little motivation to get moving. They have lots of energy, and they learn about their world through movement. The University of Illinois Extension says that there are misconceptions about preschooler fitness, including the belief that all young children are naturally active and need little encouragement. Some preschoolers spend their days engaged in little physical activity. The key is to build a variety of physical fitness activities into your preschooler's day.

Physical Fitness

Physical fitness activities are safe for most preschoolers and do not increase the risk for heart damage or interruptions to growth and development, according to the University of Illinois Extension. The fitness danger for preschoolers is in modeling poor fitness behaviors in his home. Preschoolers are more likely to engage in physical fitness activities if parents and other family members are physically active. Create a healthy lifestyle for your preschooler that includes healthy snacks, limited television time and consistent efforts to keep him moving.

Recommendations

The National Association for Sports and Physical Education recommendations for daily physical activity for preschoolers include 60 minutes of structured activity each day and a minimum of one hour of free play. Limit your preschooler's periods of inactivity, excepting sleep time, to no more than one hour at a time. Spread daily fitness time throughout the day and include indoor and outdoor play, when possible. The association recommends that parents and caregivers act intentionally to provide preschoolers with opportunities for fitness activities.

Benefits

Physical fitness activities benefit your preschooler with the development of lifelong habits that can prevent obesity and the development of health problems later in life. Fitness activities can help your preschooler burn calories, develop muscles and bones, learn motor skills and improve her balance and coordination. Fitness activities also help your preschooler learn to follow directions, build his language skills and develop confidence and a healthy concept about his body.

Types of Activities

Unstructured outdoor activities provide more freedom for unrestricted movement and encourage the use of the large muscle groups in running, jumping and other broad movements. Structured activities -- like those that preschoolers perform in child-care centers, preschools, or tumbling or dance classes -- are designed to enhance fitness and teach skills. Indoor activities encourage your preschooler to use his fine motor skills for smaller, more precise movements. Regular fitness activities, such as walking, are more engaging for your preschooler if you add a fun element, such as counting the animals she sees or a scavenger hunt to find nature items.

Activity Examples

Keep items around that provide your preschooler with many choices for fitness activities, such as jump ropes, plastic bats and balls, large plastic balls and hula hoops. Use household items to play a game of bean bag toss. Take your preschooler to the park to ride his tricycle. Invite your preschooler's friends over for games like Duck, Duck, Goose. A game of outdoor tag uses the whole body in running, swinging the arms and twisting the torso. Play the Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes game, which gets your preschooler moving and touching different parts of his body while singing the familiar song. Play music and encourage your child to dance.

Tips

Encourage physical activity by dressing your preschooler appropriately in comfortable clothing and shoes. Turn rainy day household chores into a fitness activity by having your preschooler dust or sweep floors while listening to upbeat music.

Warnings

Speak to your pediatrician before increasing your preschooler's level of physical activity.

Physical Fitness Activities for Preschoolers