That’s the NHS guideline for our youngest children.
If you're thinking, 'yep they're moving, they're tearing the house apart from dawn 'til dusk!' Then I've got you covered.
Adapt these physical activity games however you like, depending on whether you have one child or more. Think about how old your child is and make the games as simple as you need. I’ve played these with 1 year olds, teenagers, adults and every age in-between but some are better suited to different age or stages. So pick and choose, just get moving.
🦛Hungry Hippos
You’ll need: Small objects. Balls, beanbags or small toys, work well.
How to play: Place all of the objects in the middle of the room. You can put these in a container or leave them as they are. Teams of equal numbers in each corner, first person runs and collects an object to bring it back to their team. Keep going until they’re all gone. If there is only one player, you could set a timer and see how many objects they can grab before it runs out. They don’t have to run, hopping, crawling or rolling are all encouraged.
🏋🏼♀️Name Game (visit ‘free resources’ tab)
You’ll need: Our ‘Name Game’ alphabet guide.
How to play: Give your child a word. This can be their first name, surname or even a topic related keyword. For each letter in that word they need to do a set exercise. For example, ‘Emma’ you’d ‘walk like a bear for 5 seconds, pick up a ball without your hands (twice) and then ‘jump up and down’. You can adapt the move depending on which age group you are working with. Squats, lunges and burpees work well for teenagers, whereas rolling on the floor or jumping like a frog are better for preschoolers. If your child can’t read, simply read these to them or create pictures for each one.
🎾Balloon Tennis
You’ll need: Paper plates as tennis bats and one inflated balloon. String for pitch markings optional.
How to play: Mark out your pitch, or not. Divide into teams and stand on either side. Using only the bats, try to pass the balloon from one side to another. Don’t let the balloon land on the ground on your side as this will give the other team a point.
👋🏼Cone Grab
You’ll need: A cone, beanbag or small objects.
How to play: Place object in the middle of the children (or you and your child). Call out different parts of the body and encourage them to tap each one as you say then. Randomly call out the word ‘cone’. First person to grab the cone wins. To make it more challenging, have children stand in a squat position throughout. Beware of head bumps!
🐰Sleeping Bunnies
You’ll need: Just some space
How to play: This one works best if you know the song/tune. If you have a preschooler, ask them to teach you.
With the children lying on the floor, sing:
“See the bunnies sleeping ’til it’s nearly noon. Shall we try and wake them with a merry tune?
Oh so still, are they ill? Wake up soon!’
Then shout out ‘wake up bunnies!’ and ask children to stand up.
Encourage children to jump up and down while you sing:
‘Hop little bunnies hop, hop, hop, hop little bunnies hop, hop, hop hop little bunnies hop, hop, hop, hop hop hop and stop.’
Got a friend who might like these too? Send this post to them.