10 Fun Exercises for Kids at Home & Family Workouts
Looking for some fun exercises for kids at home to get your children moving? Here you can find a list of easy exercises for kids to keep them fit outside as well as some fun family workouts for kids at home.
How much exercise do kids need?
According to most experts, children over 6 years old should exercise for at least an hour per day in order to improve their strength and coordination. It doesn’t really seem like a lot, but in the age of video games and Netflix, more and more children are missing out.
In addition to fun exercises such as running, skipping, and riding, it is recommended that kids also work on muscle building exercises. We are not talking about weightlifting or anything hard core, but simple exercises for kids that strengthen their bones and build their growing muscles.
Here we have put together a list of fun exercises for kids to do at home without much preparation. You can also find some fun family work out videos for kids on Youtube.
Types of Exercises for Kids to do at Home
There are three main types of exercises that kids should do on a daily basis:
1. Aerobic Activities
Each day, children should aim to do at least 60 minutes of physical aerobic activity. They need to get out and run around, play sport, or anything that gets their heart rate up for an extended period.
2. Bone Strengthening Exercises
With growing bones, children need to do exercises that is going to strengthen their bones at least 2-3 days per week. This could be as part of their one hour per day exercising, or better yet, in addition to it. Things like jumping, hopping, skipping etc.
3. Muscle Strengthening Exercises
It is also important that kids are doing the types of exercises that are strengthening and growing their muscles. Again, this can be a part of their one hour per day exercising, or in addition to it. They need to get out and climb, swing on the monkey bars, or for older ones, do some push ups or pull ups.
10 Fun Exercises for Kids at Home
The best exercises for kids at home are simple and easy with minimal preparation. They don’t always need to be complex workouts, sometimes the more simple the better, as the kids have fun with it.
Here you can find a list of fun exercises for kids at home that can motivate your kids to get moving.
1. Running
One of the easiest exercises for kids to do at home or anywhere is to run. Running helps to develop healthy lungs and hearts and assists with kids coordination. Some examples:
- Playing tiggy around the backyard
- Playing sport such football or basketball
- Having races against other kids
2. Skipping
Another easy exercise for kids at home is skipping. Using a skipping rope is a fun expertise that is great for blood circulation, helps to strengthen kids bones and their overall physical fitness and stamina. Some examples:
- Skipping individually with a single rope
- Skipping in a group, 2 people hold the ends and one person skips in the middle
3. Yoga
One of the best exercises for kids at home is yoga. Not only does yoga help to strengthen muscles, it helps to improve balance, coordination, and promote mindfulness and deep breathing with in turn can reduce stress levels. Yoga is a great fun workout for kids.
See our full post: Yoga Videos For Kids
4. Crab Walks
A fantastic muscle-strengthening exercise that also improves kids coordination is to do the crab walks. These are great work outs for kids because they work on various different muscles. Some examples:
- Pretend play, being crabs on the beach
- Crab walking races
5. Dancing
A fun aerobic based kids exercise where they won’t realise they are working out, is having a dance out. Pop some music on in the lounge room and dance to their favourite beats. Some fun examples:
- Make up a dance to perform to parents
- Musical statue game
6. Planks
A great muscle building work out for kids to do at home is planking. This is one which uses the whole body and will need practice. Start out trying to plank for 10 seconds, and then 20 seconds and gradually practice daily. Make it a competition to see who can plank for the longest.
7. Bear Crawl
Similar to the crab walks but walking on all fours with their tummy facing the floor. This is a great whole body exercise for kids to do at home that can also be made fun. Some examples:
- Pretend play, being bears in the forest
- Bear walking races
8. Hopscotch
Not only a fantastic way for kids to exercise at home, but hopscotch is also a fun backyard game to play to pass time. All you need is some chalk to draw your hopscotch on the ground outside and some rocks to throw. Hopscotch is perfect because it helps kids to multitask, aiding their coordination when children need to hop, and coordination when throwing the rock.
9. Squats & Lunges
Lunges are simple exercises for kids to do at home that build strength, and help to develop their coordination and balance. Try to do different types of exercises and make it into a game. See how many squats or lunges your child can do in 30 seconds. Eventually put both together and make a routine. You can also incorporate jumping jacks in between for a real home work out
10. Cycling
Cycling is another easy exercise for kids. Like running, it helps to develop kids organs and assist with their coordination. In addition, it helps kids to practice their balance. Some examples:
- A balance bike or trike in the yard for little ones
- A family bike ride for older ones
Benefits of Regular Exercises for Kids
Regular exercise for kids has numerous benefits. Daily exercise make kids healthier, more attentive, and less likely to have problems with their weight as they get older. Regular workouts also improve their fitness levels, endurance, flexibility, stronger bones and muscles.
The benefits of exercise for kids are not just physical. Children who are active tend to be more attentive and have higher concentration levels.
Kids Activities at Home
Hopefully this list of fun exercises for kids to do at home as inspired you to keep active with family workouts. If you are looking for other ways to keep kids entertained at home, you may enjoy these posts:
