Outdoor Physical Activity Ideas For Kids - Twelve Easy and Cheap Ideas to Get Kids Moving

How To Get Kids To Exercise More

Are your kids outside having fun? Or are the older children slumped in front of the computer chatting with their Facebook friends while the younger kids are playing with the latest interactive games or apps on the tablet computer? How to you get kids to move? How do you make sure your kids get the physical activity they need?

Exercise makes us healthy. Adults have been told to exercise at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes each time. It is the same for kids. It is healthy and good for their well being to get up and moving, to work out a sweat, to include physical activities in their routine.

So make it a point to put away all those little tech gadgets you have, the portable dvds, the little smart phones, the handheld gadgets and games and make sure your child have some good and solid physical fun.

The physical activity ideas in this post are suitable for young kids from age 5-10.

Kids Should Be Out Having Fun In The Sun, Not Hunched Over A Tablet Computer 

Outdoor Physical Activity Ideas For Kids - Twelve Easy and Cheap Ideas to Get Kids Moving!

Here are some outdoor physical activity ideas for kids. Most of these ideas to get kids up and moving about is easy and cost next to nothing.

1. Visit the neighborhood playground. This is the easiest. Seesaws, slides, swings. Kids love them. They will also get fresh air and so will you. 
2. Get a hula hoop or two and do the hula hoop together with your child. Watch them explode in giggles as you do the hula hula together. Put on some music as you twist together. Kids love it when you exercise with them. 
3. Play Hopscotch. Get some chalk and draw up your own hopscotch. Be creative and create your own hopscotch. Our hopscotch sometimes include rivers and mountains which we have to hop over! 
4. Take your child swimming. You can have a fun picnic in the sun. Swim, Walk on the beach, then swim some more. If you don't live near the beach, just go to a pool. Swimming is a good all round physical activity for everyone, the kids and you. 
5. Organize a family jog-a-thon. Go jogging together as a family. You can race with the kids if you are up to you. Kids love a race. 
6. Get a ball then use the ball to play football, netball, basketball, throw the ball to each other, away from each other. Kick the ball, run after it, try to get the ball away from your child, then let them win. This often results in laughter and sweat! 
7. Ride a bike. Teach your child to ride a bike. Let them ride in a dedicated riding area where it is safe. Make sure you get safety gear. Riding a bicycle is so freeing. Everyone should ride more! 
8. Get a kite. Kite flying requires lots of running to get the kite up, up and away! Kids will find it very exciting to succeed in getting their kite up in the air. 
9. Get a skipping rope. Then teach your child to skip or do high jump over the rope or move the rope up and down like a snake and try to jump over it without being 'caught' by the snake. Even a simple thing like a skipping rope can be fun if you put a little creativity into it. 
10. Introduce a racquet game to your children. Tennis, badminton, ping pong are all fun and include physical action. 
11. Get water guns then have a water gun fight with your kids. 
12. If it is raining lightly, dress up in wellingtons and boots and armed with a kid's sized umbrella for your kid and a bigger one for you, then go and kick some puddles and feel the rain. 

Myth: Kids Hate To Exercise

"My child hates to exercise!" Many parents say their kids hate physical exercises. This is not true. Have you seen a child running in a field kicking a ball or swinging high on a swing? They look happy and alive. Kids Love Exercise! We, the parents, just have to make it happen!