10 Fun Exercises for Children is a guide to turning healthy activity for sedentary little ones into fun time. An active lifestyle is vital for children’s overall health and development. Sedentary behavior, which includes watching TV, using a laptop or phone, and even sitting in classrooms, is becoming increasingly prevalent among children, with studies showing they spend about 8 hours per day being inactive.

A lack of physical activity not only has potential immediate health consequences but can also set a precedent for sedentary habits into adulthood, where the risks include chronic diseases. According to NIH, promoting an active lifestyle from an early age is crucial. It helps to reduce sedentary behavior, fosters healthy habits, and mitigates future health risks.

Develop Good Habits

Encouraging healthy habits from an early age is vital to keeping kids active and engaged, promoting overall well-being and a more active lifestyle. Let’s discover practical tips to get kids moving and reduce sedentary habits.

Set Media Time Limits: Limit the time spent on TV, social media, and video games. These activities should not replace adequate sleep or physical activity.

Limit Screen Time for Young Kids: For children aged 2 to 5 years old, limit screen time to an hour or less per day.

Avoid Screen Time for Infants: Unlike video-chatting, discourage screen time for kids younger than 18 months.

Choose High-Quality Programming: Opt for high-quality content and watch it with your kids to help them understand and engage meaningfully.

Keep Devices Out of Bedrooms: To avoid distractions and promote better sleep, keep TVs, computers, tablets, phones, and video games out of children’s bedrooms.

(Ben-Joseph)

10 Fun Exercises for Children to Do at Home

Encouraging children to engage in diverse activities promoting these three aspects fosters a love for physical activity. The three key elements of fitness are endurance, strength, and flexibility.

Endurance is built through aerobic activities that increase heart rate and breathing. Power doesn’t only come from weightlifting but also from exercises like push-ups and climbing, which tone muscles and strengthen bones. Flexibility, often overlooked, involves the ability of muscles and joints to move quickly, which can be improved through activities like dance and yoga. It sets the groundwork for a healthy lifestyle.

Here are ten fun and easy exercises that children can do at home:

1. Jumping Jacks: This classic exercise involves jumping to a position with the legs spread wide and the hands touching overhead, then returning to a position with the feet together and the arms at the sides. Aim for ten repetitions.
2. Scissor Jumps: Start with one leg front and the other back, jump and switch the legs. Repeat this for a count of 10.
3. Touch Your Toes: An excellent stretch exercise – reach up high on your tiptoes, then bend down to touch the ground. Try to do this ten times.
4. Ball Bounces: Sit on an exercise ball and bounce using your legs. This exercise is excellent for balance and core strength.
5. Rocket Jumps: Squat down, touch the ground between your feet, then jump up, reaching your arms straight overhead like a rocket.
6. Cherry Pickers: An arm exercise where you pretend to pick cherries from a tree. Alternate arms, reach up high, and then pull down. This helps improve shoulder strength.
7. Mountain Climbers: A full-body workout. Start in a plank position, pull one knee into your chest, extend it back out, and switch to the other leg.
8. Plank: Have your child hold a plank position on their palms and toes for a count of 10. It’s great for core strengthening.
9. Cat and Cow Stretch: A yoga-inspired exercise. Start on all fours, arch your back upwards like a cat, then flatten your back and stick your bum out like a cow.
10. Tuck and Roll (Somersaults): A fun exercise, tuck your knees into your chest, roll forward onto your back, and then push yourself back up to a seated position.

Remember, it’s important to supervise children during these exercises to ensure they’re done safely. (McClelland)

Healty Start

To foster fit and active children, parents should encourage daily physical activity, with school-age kids needing about 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise. Younger children should have several hours of playtime. It’s crucial to make physical activity a part of everyday life, setting a regular schedule and incorporating fun, varied workouts. Embracing an active lifestyle as parents set a positive example for children. Remember, family participation not only enhances fitness but also strengthens family bonds.

Works Cited

“Kids and Exercise (for Parents) – Nemours Kidshealth.” Edited by Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, KidsHealth, The Nemours Foundation, Aug. 2022,

kidshealth.org/en/parents/exercise.html.

McClelland, Sarah. “12 Fun Exercises for Kids.” Little Bins for Little Hands, 10 Feb. 2023,

littlebinsforlittlehands.com/get-moving-kids-exercises-gross-motor-play/.

Hidding, Lisan M, et al. “Why Do Children Engage in Sedentary Behavior? Child- and Parent-Perceived Determinants.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 22 June 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5551109/.