Promoting Physically Active Toddlers

We know what you're thinking.....promoting physical activity in toddlers? The very definition toddler is "constant motion". We completely agree. Toddlers are in nearly constant motion during their waking hours. But according to The National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) toddlers need both structured and unstructured physical playtime. NASPE recommends toddlers engage 60 minutes of unstructured physical play and 30 minutes of structured physical play each day.

We have gathered a list of low or no cost structured physical activities for toddlers. Offer these activities to the toddler in your life, strengthening their muscles, balance, flexibility, endurance and even brain development! Toddlers learn by using their body. Physical activities that use both sides of the body at once, requiring bilateral coordination. Strong coordination between both sides of the brain is needed for reading.
Physical activities, such as rolling, somersaults, yoga and swinging provide vestibular input which helps promote speech and language skills. "Heavy work" such as pulling, pushing, crawling and digging keeps kids’ bodies calm, organized, and arousal levels regulated and helps them focus on fine motor activities such as writing. So get busy moving and learning! 

• Put on some music and dance together.
• Grab a rhythm instrument, such as a maraca or drum and march together. 
• Act like an animal: hop like a bunny, slither like a snake, fly like a bird, leap like a frog, balance like a flamingo...(you will need to participate by modeling each animal).
• Blow bubbles so your toddler chase and pop.
• Lay on the ground with arm above head and roll.
• Play tag (essentially chasing).
• Play hide & seek.
• Play follow the leader and mimic each other. 
• Practice somersaults (instruct them to look at their belly and help them roll.)
• Tuck and rock by laying on back, tuck knees in, secure with arms and rock up and back. 
• Balance by walking on a line of masking tape or a narrow space between two parallel lines of masking tape. 
• Lay washcloths down in a path and jump from cloth to cloth imagining they are rocks in a river. 
• Tape a box open on either end to make a tunnel to crawl through. If you have two or more boxes the same size, tape them together to make a longer tunnel. 
• Use an under inflated beach ball to kick and toss to each other.
• Make a "treasure hunt" by providing a trail of treasures and basket for collecting to practice squatting. 
• Provide a pile of rolled up socks and practice tossing into the laundry basket. Crumpled scrap paper works well too. 
• Lay a jump rope in a straight line and practice jumping over and back. 
• Save empty shoe boxes or tissue boxes for stacking.
• Attach shoe boxes, without lids, by string to each other and make a homemade train to pull. Toddlers will love filling up the boxes and toting around. The same can be done by tying an old tube sock or string around a laundry basket to pull. 
• Offer toddlers a small bucket of water and a large paint brush to brush outside walls, sidewalks, etc. 
• Fill an empty plastic beverage container with water and press holes into lid to make a watering "can" to tote around. 
• Stack cups or empty, tall boxes to knock over by tossing or rolling a ball. 
• Visit Namaste Kids for some easy yoga poses. 
• If you have access to a sandbox, digging is a great physical activity. A plastic shovel or empty yogurt or other container will work well.