It’s important for children to have opportunities
for active play. Children develop different skills
when they play quietly than when they are active and moving
around. It’s great if you can find time for your child
to play inside
and play outside.
Just like adults, children need time to be active and exercise.
Children eat and sleep better, and may manage their behavior better too, when they have a chance to move around and “use up their energy.”
Children need one hour of active play every day. There are lots of ways to be active, like dancing, jumping up and down to catch balloons, going on walks, or playing at the park. Children need several opportunities throughout the day for activity; setting aside time before, during, and after school is recommended.
Children should not spend more than 2 hours in a day watching TV, or playing video games or computer games (“screen time”). When you limit “screen time,” your child is more likely to do other things, like make-believe play, active play, look at books, or socialize with the family.
Decide how TV fits into your routine. Some parents only allow TV on the weekends; other parents allow TV in the mornings or evenings. Whatever you decide, your child will adjust once it becomes part of your routine.
Start small. If your child watches a lot of TV, it’s a great start to reduce TV time by 30 minutes! You can continue to reduce your child’s TV and other screen time until it reaches an amount of time that is acceptable to you.
Turning off the TV does not mean that parents have to entertain their children the rest of the time. It’s important to offer suggestions for other activities that children can do, but it’s great for children to come up with their own ideas too!
Some Things for Parents to Consider
How often does your child have opportunities for active play?
How much time does your child usually spend watching TV, or playing video games or computer games?
Think about changes you might want to make in your child’s daily routine to add in opportunities for active play and to limit “screen time.”
There are lots of ways to encourage active play inside and outside at all times of the year!
Ways children can be active inside
- Dance or exercise videos
- Dance, step, or hop to music – choose children’s music or teach your child about traditional music from your culture
- Freeze dance – children dance when the music is playing and freeze (stand totally still) when the music is turned off
- Balloons in the air – children jump up to keep the balloons in the air with their hands, head, or feet
- Pop the bubbles – children jump up to pop the bubbles with their hands, head, or feet
- Play catch – choose something soft like a bean bag, foam ball, stuffed animal, sponge, or small pillow
- Shoot hoops – choose something soft and throw it into a laundry basket or bucket
- “Trip to the Zoo” – children pretend to be different animals by making different body movements (ducks waddle, fish swim, eagles fly, lions stretch, kangaroos jump, giraffes walk on tip-toes, snakes slither, frogs hop, elephants take giant steps)
- “Hokey Pokey” – children sing and make body movements (“You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out, you put your right in and you shake it all about. Do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that’s what it’s all about!” Repeat with left foot, arms, and whole body.)
- “Simon Says” – one child is “Simon” and the other children do what Simon says (“Simon says, jump” or “Simon says, reach your arms up to the sky”).
- Play Twister
Ways children can be active outside
- Play hopscotch with chalk on the sidewalk
- Jump rope or hula hoop
- Roller skate or run with a scooter
- Play tag
- Throw, catch, or kick a ball
- Build a snowperson
- Turn a walk into a “scavenger hunt” in your neighborhood and search for fallen leaves, landmarks, art work, or street signs
- Join in a community effort to clean-up the park
- Make it a special family event to play games in the park
- Sign your child up to participate in organized sports, like basketball, baseball, soccer, or karate
- Sign your child up for programs at the YMCA or Boys and Girls Club
- Try to coordinate with other parents in your community and make a plan for supervising children’s play on the sidewalk, park, or playground. Each parent might agree to supervise playtime for 1 hour per week.
Ways to add activity into your child’s daily routine
- Walk your child to school
- Take your child to the park on your way home
- Walk to stores and shops
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Get off the subway or bus 1 stop earlier to walk
- Let your child help with sweeping, vacuuming, or shoveling snow