Colder temperatures and shorter days make staying inside much easier during the winter months, but a lack of outdoor playtime can take its toll on all of us, especially your kids. While it can be hard to wrangle children to get back indoors during the summer months, even the most active children may hesitate to run around and play outside when it gets a little frosty.
In the winter, it is estimated that children burn only half as many calories as they do in the summer. Keeping our kids involved in something other than video games is vital for many reasons. It not only helps build their confidence, it helps them continue to grow and develop their social and life skills. When our kids are trapped in the house, we need to provide them opportunities to get involved and to be involved as a family. Not only does the lack of exercise have a negative effect on their physical well-being, it also allows kids to store up a lot of unused energy. What can we do to help them use this energy? See our tips below for fun and ideas for keeping your kids active.
- Have easy access to board games and card games – put them out in a place that they see when they walk by
- Teach children and adolescents ones how to shuffle cards
- Teach a new game (poker isn’t just for adults)
- Have books handy, find out what your kids like to read and have a stock of books on a shelf
- Keep Legos and Lincoln Logs on hand
- Set out a puzzle in a common space for everyone to work on as they walk by
- Play video games as a family, keep them in a common room
- Have a family dance party, turn on some tunes and have some fun
- Get in the kitchen and bake a fun family treat or make dinner together
- Have art supplies on hand for times when they are feeling creative
- Help your child find a new hobby (collecting rocks, stamps, baseball cards, learn sign language, teach themselves how to play an instrument (You Tube is great for this)
We always keep things positive, we want your world view to include the positive. There is plenty of access to the negative, so let’s do what we can to increase the positive world view starting inside our homes.
“Play is the highest form of Research” – Albert Einstein
