Tips for Active Play with Your Kids

Thanks to Melissa Taylor of Imagination Soup Blog for some great thoughts about keeping our kids active!

BornFit Owner Lisa and her son "getting active"!

Not to freak you out but is your child getting the recommended amount of active time per day? The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) says school age children should get at least sixty minutes of physical activity every day. Preschoolers and toddlers need 90 minutes.
As I wrote this recommendation for a recent Colorado Parent article, I nodded my head in agreement. Yes, yes, that’s right. You betcha. Sixty minutes, totally doing it.
Yeah, only not so much. I realized, that while I tried to write, and clean, and make dinner, my four year old was either watching t.v. (gulp – HATE to admit) or playing a computer game (more screen time you bad mom!) or coloring (sitting down still.)
Aren’t I just the worst mom of the year?
Please tell me I’m not the only slacker mom out there! Well, probably you’re light years ahead of me. But, I intend to catch up and get with the program.
Here’s my list for active play – all ages & almost all weather. (Humor me that you might need a list, too.)
Outside Play – stick with the basics of backyard fun . . .
1. Tag
2. Chase
3. Hop Scotch
4. Jump Rope
5. Swings
6. Monkey Bars
7. Frisbee (?) – more active if you’re not very good!
8. Catch
Inside Play – new active favorites
1. Obstacle Course with couch pillows
2. Tackle daddy
3. Hide and Seek
4. Dancing Queen (or King)
5. Chores
6. Animal Walks
Join me in committing to keep your child active, even in the colder winter months ahead. Every day. We can do it!

Melissa Taylor is a mom, a writer, and a teacher. Her blog, Imagination Soup (www.imaginationsoup.net) is learning ideas for kids in all subject areas – math, science, reading and writing. Check out her freelance writing portfolio at www.melissatayloronline.com .

Tagged as: activity for kids, Physical exercise