It is important to encourage children to be physically active, particularly when they spend most of their day at home. Supporting the physical development of kids lays for them a solid foundation for growing up to be healthy adults. Most children are very energetic. By giving them fitness guidance, we can inculcate in them lasting good habits. Physical activity for kids is very important for the healthy development of motor skills and coordination.

Besides that, an active lifestyle benefits kids in many more ways. Physically active life reduces the risk of obesity among children and improves their cardiovascular fitness. Doing the right exercises ensures healthy growth of bones, muscles, and ligaments. Exercise gives children good posture, gives them confidence, and boosts their social skills.

The following are some activities that you can do at home to encourage healthy physical development of kids.

Sharpen kids’ gross motor skills development

Gross motor skills are movements that involve large muscle groups, movements like those of the trunk, arms, and legs. Large muscles enable us to perform everyday functions like walking, sitting or standing correctly and provide us with the basic strength for maintaining good posture and easy movements. Practicing these movements is essential for growing children.

Some of the activities that support gross motor skill development and are easy to do at home are:

• Dancing: Dancing requires the whole body to move and several large muscles, joints, and ligaments are involved in the dance movements. Dancing is fun. You can choose the dances that suit your child’s age. You can do the easy ones like the baby shark dance, modern dances from TikTok or choose a sporty approach with Zumba. Freeze dancing is an option that is great for kids of all ages.
• Games: There are parlor games that encourage physical activity and get kids moving. Twister, for instance, requires coordination and flexibility. You can also fill and throw up the balloon and invite your kids to chase it and keep it in the air so it never touches the floor.
• DIY maze: Pin a string to your hallway wall and then stretch it across and attach it to the opposite wall. Do that several times to create a cool “laser maze” and have the kids cross the “laser maze” without touching the strings. 
• Classical workout: Get your kids to do jumping jacks, headstands or do a yoga workout, for example. At UNGA, we notice that our employees’ children are very pleased to join their parents in our online yoga classes. If you are already practicing yoga at home, invite your kids to join you!
• Game consoles: If you have a WiiFit, a dance pad or any other plug-and-play devices, you can have your kids use them to stay active.

If you have access to a garden, you are really lucky! You can engage your little ones in the following activities too:

• Gardening: It gives the kids a full-body workout and the garden is the right outdoor place for kids to do their stretches and exercises. Gardening also has several other benefits.
• Kids can play football/soccer, the most popular game in the world because everyone can play. All you need is a ball!
• Run, cycle or skate: These activities are great to empty your kids’ batteries, boost their cardiovascular fitness and give them a good appetite.
• Use the garden, exercise your creativity to layout an obstacle course or circuit workout. Draw lines with chalk on the ground for kids to balance along, place boxes for them to jump over, and so on

Improve your kids’ fine motor skills with fun activities

Fine motor skills are not the thing that springs to our minds when we think about the physical development of kids. Fine motor skills require a well-developed musculoskeletal system for coordinating small movements that are important in our daily lives. For example, good coordination between our hands and eyes is an essential key fine motor skill for performing many daily activities and sports.

Following activities will sharpen your kids’ fine motor skills:

• Jenga: A classic game that requires a steady hand and good coordination.
• Building blocks: With building block toys, kids can build whatever they want and then play with their own creation.
• Draw or paint: Be a creative artist. Finger paint or join your kids and draw with them. Try to draw objects as precisely as possible or just have fun.
• Play Dough: Modelling or plasticine clay is a creative option that kids have loved to play with for generations. Inspire your children to give shape to whatever they can imagine.
• Handcrafting: There are numerous things that you and your kids can craft very easily such as Cactus Pet Rocks, Toilet Paper Roll flowers or Footprint Heart Art. Find more ideas on thebestideasforkids.com.