How To Keep Kids Active During A Lockdown
With a lot of kids stuck at home due to the covid-19 pandemic it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep them as active as they usually are during this lockdown and especially with the social isolation and distancing. Having no sport training, games or regular running around the playground at lunchtime their average activity level is a little bit lower than normal.
Have no fear though! There are many ways to keep kids active during a lockdown without having to venture too far from your home. Here are some of the things we have been doing to keep our kids busy (and thus keeping ourselves sane) during this lockdown.
Obstacle Courses for Kids Activity During A Lockdown
This is our favourite way to keep our kids active during a lockdown and if I’m being real with you, we sometimes get involved as well! They are just super fun!
We will either set up our own little obstacle courses in the house or outside deepening on the weather. We will then tailor what we use in the obstacle course depending if it is inside. Here are some of the common things we use in our obstacle courses:
Inside
- Chairs – we get the kids to crawl under them
- Bean bags – they have to jump on them and then roll off them
- Masking tape – I create squares to jump in and pretend the floor is hot lava
- Skipping rope – I put it in a funny shape and they have to walk on it like a tight rope
- Couch cushions (the big ones that make the couch) – I spread them out and they jump from one onto the other
Outside
(note: we have a home gym so have a heap of gym equipment we can use)
- Box (one you use for box jumps at a gym) – they climb onto them and then jump off them
- Weight plates – jump on them like stepping stones
- Old car tires – jump in and out of them
- Ladder – step in and out of the in different pattens
- Skipping ropes – I put it in a funny shape and they have to walk on it like a tight rope
The best things about obstacle courses is that you can change them up all the time so they are never the same. The kids love them!
Running Races – Great Lockdown Activity For Kids
I don’t know about you but my kids love to be competitive! They will do anything to win. So, one thing we like to do is make mini competitions which also serve as getting some energy out! We are lucky to live close to an oval so will take a couple of coloured water bottles (which we use as cones) and set up some good old-fashioned running races!
We set up some long ones first, say around 100 metres and then make them shorter and shorter. How many we do depends on how the kids are feeling and how much energy they have. Sometimes we only do 5 or so whereas other times it can be as many as 10-15! Whatever the amount we do it is a great way to keep kids active during a lockdown and really helps to get rid of some energy!
Being the competitive little souls they are I like to give them little prizes if they win. For example, if they win one race they get 5 MnMs.
Exercise Classes For Keeping Kids Active During Lockdown
Just like exercise classes at the gym we set up exercise classes at home. We have a few different ones we have made up and the kids get to pick which one they want to do. For example, a boxing class, a dance class and a strength class.
We then put on some fun music and do our thing! Half the time we just end up laughing our heads off but we still get rid of some energy!
Bike Rides – A Great Kids Lockdown Activity
When was the last time you rode your bikes as a family? Before covid-19 we hadn’t been on our bikes as a family for ages! This lockdown has reinvigorated our love of family bike rides and as a result we have found some amazing paths around our house that we never new existed before and the kids absolutely love our family bike rides!
So, dust off the bikes because they are a great way to keep kids active during a lockdown and just in general!
Kids Yoga Will Increase Kids Activity During Lockdown
We had never explored kids’ yoga before the covid-19 lockdown but some of our friends told us their kids were loving it so we gave it a go. Wow you guys if you haven’t tried it for your kids then you definitely should give it a go! My kids love it and we have done so many of them now!
If you just go to YouTube and type in yoga for kids or yoga for children there are so many videos with different themes and teachers. Give a couple a go and see which ones your kids like the best!
While yoga doesn’t omit a lot of energy it is a great way to calm your kids down and stretch their bodies and therefore, I still count it as a good way to keep kids active during a lockdown!
So there you have it the top 5 ways we are keeping our kids active during a lockdown. Hopefully it’s the only one us and our children will ever have to live through. Stay safe everyone!
Be sure to check out our other blog posts for many more ideas.
My name is Andrea Thompson and I’m a home based freelance writer. I’m 23 years old, married to my best friend, and mother to a wonderfully independent and opinionated 3 year old girl and step-mother to a sweet seven year old boy. I live in a tiny, little town in Kentucky, where I spend my free time fishing with my kids.
Writing has always been my passion, which I followed through high school, and for a while in college. Life happened, and once I discovered we were pregnant, I switched directions; opting for the healthcare industry because of the stability.
Finally, years later, I was in a place where I could leave the day job that never truly made me happy, and pursue my dreams. I’ve built, and am still building, my writing career from scratch. But, I’m passionate and I’m good at what I do. And, in the end, I can prove to my daughter that she can do anything she wants with this life.
