It can be hard to know how to keep your toddler active and to know how much activity they should be doing each day. Here, we will guide you though how active your toddler should be and give you some tips on how to keep them active.
Being active is really important no matter how young (or old) we are. Regular physical activity keeps us healthy, can help to prevent many illnesses, such as heart disease, and it is great for our mental health.
When it comes to children being active is extremely important as an active childhood can set you up for a happy and healthy life.
But, how active should your child be? And how do you keep a toddler active?
Within this article, we will be guiding you through how much activity your toddler should be doing, depending on their age, and give you some tips on how to keep your toddler active.
Let’s get started!
How Active Should Your Child Be?
The level of activity your child needs to do is very dependent on their age. Within this section, we will look at different age ranges of children and let you know how much daily activity they should be doing.
Under 1 Year Old
Babies should be encouraged to be active throughout each day. This could be through crawling but, if they are not quite at this stage yet, there are still many ways that you can encourage them to be physically active. This includes encouraging them to reach and grasp for things, pulling and pushing, moving their head, body and limbs during daily routines, and during supervised floor play.
You should also include 30 minutes of tummy time spread throughout the day. This will help them to see how they can move their bodies, their neck and their heads. As they get older, you could place toys around them so they reach out for them.
Toddlers Aged 1 to 2 Years Old
Toddlers should be physically active for at least 180 minutes (3 hours) every day. This should be spread throughout the day, including playing outdoors.
Many light activities such as standing up, moving around, rolling and playing can be included in the 180 minutes. These should be done alongside energetic activities like skipping, hopping, running and jumping
Active play is a great way to get this age group moving.This will include activities like using a climbing frame, riding a bike, playing in water, chasing games and ball games, such as football.
Pre-Schoolers Aged 3 to 4 Years Old
Children aged 3 to 4 years old should also be active for at least 180 minutes (3 hours) a day doing a variety of physical activities spread throughout the day, including active and outdoor play.
Within the 180 minutes, they should be doing 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. A sports class, such as swimming or football, would be a great way for them to be moderately active during the week.
Prolonged periods of inactivity are not good for children under five, except during sleep. Extended screen time, travel in vehicles, or confinement to strollers negatively impact a child’s health and development so it is really important to keep them active.
How To Keep Your Toddler Active
It can be hard to get your toddler to be as active as they need to be, particularly as they get older. But, being active is so good for them so it is really important that you do your very best to keep them active. Within this section, we will offer you our tips for how to keep your toddler active.
Make It Fun
One of the best ways to keep your toddler active is to make being active fun. Toddlers like having fun!
There are many easy and simple ways to keep it fun. There are many fun activities you can choose from that will get them being active whilst also having fun, such as getting a football and having a kick about in the garden. If you have a large garden, you get them doing little fun jobs whilst you are gardening such as doing some watering.
If you have a local park nearby, you could take them to play on their bike or to have fun on the climbing frames and other fun stuff at the park.
On rainy days, you could also do things inside your home. There are many workouts for children on YouTube.
Finally, an excellent way to encourage your toddler to be physically active is to find a sport they really enjoy that they can attend on a regular basis. This could be dancing, gymnastics, swimming and, of course, football.
Be A Role Model
Another excellent way to keep your toddler active is to be active yourself. Children learn, from a very young age, by imitating the adults around them. So, if they see you being active and enjoying yourself whilst you are doing it, they will want to join in.
Provide Positive Reinforcement
When your toddler is engaging in physical activity, it is really important to provide positive reinforcement but it is important that it is the right kind of positive reinforcement.
You should praise your child for taking part in the activity and just praise them in a general type of way. This will encourage them to continue participating in the activity.
Positive reinforcement will also help your toddler to build their confidence which will help them to feel better about themselves and to engage in sports and physical activities with other children.
Break The Activity Down Into Manageable Chunks
Three hours of solid physical activity would be a lot for an adult, let alone a toddler so it is important that you break down the activity into manageable chunks.
It is a good idea to break the physical activity into 10, 20 or 30 minute chunks. These chunks of activity could be attending a sports class. Our football classes are 30 to 40 minutes long so would help your child with a good chunk of activity.
Other ways to break the activity down into manageable chunks is to take your toddler to the park to play for a while or play in your garden with them.
This is a great way to keep your toddler active whilst keeping the activity fun and engaging for their young minds.
Keeping Your Toddler Active Is Easier Than You Think
Keeping your toddler active is really important as it will help them to stay healthy and set them up for a happy, healthy life. How to keep your toddler active is a question many parents particularly in this modern world of iPads and smartphones filled with fun activities for children.
Keeping your toddler active is easier than you think. It is all about making the activities fun and you are taking part so your toddler wants to copy you. You should also make sure to provide them with positive reinforcement about what they are doing and break all their activities down into manageable chunks of time.
Easy peasy!
We hope you have found our tips helpful. If you would like to know more about our football classes, please click here.