With the winter weather settling in and many places under COVID-19 restrictions, kids are going to be spending more time inside the house. Continuing to stay active while indoors is important for their physical and mental health. If you are looking for some exercise ideas, consider incorporating one or more of these six activities into your daily routine.

Dance Parties!

Most kids can’t resist bopping along to the beat of their favourite song. Take advantage of this natural enthusiasm for music and dancing by setting aside time every day for a dance party. Put together a playlist of some child-friendly songs, move the furniture in the living room, and encourage your kids to dance to their heart’s content. They will be getting plenty of aerobic exercise while having fun.

Yoga

Yoga is a good exercise for the whole family because any pose can be modified to different ages and skill levels. Plus, it’s a great activity to enjoy together. Just place some yoga mats side by side in the living room, put on an easy, child-friendly yoga video, and follow along. Make sure your kids know that it isn’t a competition and to only go as far as comfortable in the stretches.

Hula-Hooping

Hula-hooping is a fun skill for kids to learn, and it’s a great workout as well, especially for the core muscles. Set up an area where they can hula-hoop freely by moving some furniture over and removing any breakable items from the space. Most kids are quick to pick it up and eager to show off their new moves.

Jump Rope

While it requires a little more clearance, jump rope is another activity that can be done inside if you have the space for it. It provides a fantastic cardio workout, encouraging a healthy heart and a healthy weight. Plus, it’s easy to incorporate into a child’s TV time by, for example, having them jump during commercials.

Fitness Cards

Keep things interesting by using a deck of cards to decide your next fitness activity! Start by assigning a different type of exercise to each suit. For example, diamonds mean sit-ups, hearts mean push-ups, clubs mean jumping jacks, and spades mean squats. Then, shuffle the deck and begin drawing cards from the top. The selected suit indicates the exercise to be done and the number on the card represents how many repetitions to do.

Chores

Think about the types of chores your kids do and consider giving them some slightly more physical tasks. Invite them to help you with chores like sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing floors, raking leaves, or shovelling snow. Having some extra little hands can make your to-do list easier while ensuring that your kids spend a bit more time on their feet every day. Make sure the selected chores are suitable for their ages and ability.

Winter weather and social distancing might have put a damper on activities outside of the house, but there is still a lot you can do indoors. Help keep the whole family healthy and safe with a fun and physically active daily routine.