Physical activity for toddlers is really important. It will help to stay happy and healthy. Within this article, we look at ways in which you can encourage your toddler to be more active.
It is advised by the NHS that toddlers should be active for at least 180 minutes (3 hours) every day. This 180 minutes can include some light activities such as standing up, rolling and playing. Physical activity for toddlers is important as it encourages healthy growth and development. Taking part in physical activity from a young age is more likely to lead them to being an active adult which is crucial for a healthy, happy life.
Within this article, we will look at physical activity for toddlers and how to encourage your toddler to be more active.
Keep The Physical Activity Fun
One of the best ways to encourage your toddler to enjoy physical activity is to keep it fun. When it comes to physical activity for toddlers, you don’t want it to feel like a chore. They should be excited to participate in the activities.
There are many simple ways to keep it fun. Firstly, you could get the whole family involved so physical activity becomes a fun activity that your toddler does with everyone.
Then, there is simply choosing fun activities. If you have a garden, you could buy your toddler a plastic watering can and/or wheelbarrow and get them helping and having fun in the garden. There are of course the more obvious toys like bikes and scooters that your toddler can play with in the garden or you can take them to your local park.
If you do not have a garden, the local park will be a great asset to encouraging your toddler to be physically active, particularly if they have age appropriate play equipment. 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 way to encourage physical activity in your toddler is to be a role model and be active yourself. Children learn by imitating the behaviour of the adults around them so, if they see you being active, they will instinctively want to copy you.
Also, if they see you enjoying yourself doing sport and physical activities, they will begin to associate sport and physical activity with happiness and enjoyment.
Break Activities Down Into Manageable Chunks
As we have already mentioned, the NHS suggests at least 180 minutes (3 hours) of physical activity for toddlers each day. Doing three hours of physical activity all at once will not work for your toddler. It wouldn’t work for many adults either!
So, it is a really good idea to break your activities down into manageable chunks. This could be doing 30 minutes at a sports class, such as our Socatots toddler classes, followed by short 10 minute bursts of activity to cover the rest of the 2.5+ hours.
On days where your toddler doesn’t have a class to attend, you could take them to the park to play for a while or play in your garden with them. It is just important that you don’t overexert them as this could lead to them no longer enjoying physical activity. Ten to thirty minutes of fun activities, followed by a break is a great way to break down physical activity for toddlers.
Provide Positive Reinforcement
When your toddler is engaging in physical activity, it is really important to provide positive reinforcement. It is important that you praise the behaviour, that your child is taking part in the physical activity, and not praise the child in general as this will encourage them to continue participating in the activity and it will promote a sense of self-efficacy. This is because learning new skills is within their control, unlike personality traits which are more innate.
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.
Set Limits On Screen Time
In the modern world, children are using some form of screen from a very early age. There is obviously children’s television but there are now iPads and gaming systems that are available for children from being toddlers.
Screens can be beneficial for children, particularly if they are playing games or watching television shows that are fun but also educational but you do want to set some limits with your children. Being on screens a lot could lead your toddler to having a sedentary, inactive lifestyle and that is not good for them.
So, set limits on screen time and be firm about them. During the time where your toddler is not allowed on a screen, do some fun physical activities. Setting these limits when they are young will help to keep them in place as they get older.
Why Our Football Classes Are Great Physical Activity For Toddlers
Having your toddler attend some type of sport class is a great way to encourage your toddler to take part in physical activity. Within this section, we will look at why our football classes will be great physical activity for your toddler.
Football Classes Are Fun
First and foremost, your toddler will have fun at our football classes. Our football classes are designed to be fun because we know how important this is when it comes to getting a toddler engaged with a sport.
We start our football classes with 5 minutes of free play which includes kid friendly music as everyone is greeted by the coach and the equipment is set up. Then, we will sit in a circle and do a quick little intro where everyone introduces themselves and we learn all the toddler’s names.
Then we are ready to begin. We will do a warm up, using a bean bag, to another kid-friendly song. Next, we are on to the actual football training in which your child will do activities using domes, skittles, balls and more bean bags.
Throughout it all your toddler will have fun and be supported by you and our coaches.
Designed With Toddlers In Mind
All of our football classes are designed with certain age groups in mind so your child will be learning at a pace that suits them.
Our football classes range from 35 to 45 minutes long depending on the age of your child. The skills they work on will also change and develop as they get older.
Your toddler will never be made to feel like they are falling behind and, if they do find anything challenging, they will be helped as all our coaches take an individual approach for each child.
Develop Multiple Skills
When attending our football classes, your toddler will develop multiple skills. They will develop their motor skills, their cognitive skills and their social skills.
Attending our football classes will help them to be active and to find enjoyment in physical activity but they will hold so many more benefits to your toddler.
How to Encourage Your Toddler to Be More Active
Physical activity for toddlers is really important and there are some very simple ways in which you can encourage it.
Making physical activity fun is one of the best ways. It is also a really good idea to be a role model for your toddler by being active yourself. Toddlers naturally copy their parents so if they see you enjoying yourself, they will want to join.
It is a really good idea to break down physical activities for toddlers into manageable chunks, of 10-30 minutes. This will keep the toddler engaged and having fun. Finally, it is really important that you provide positive reinforcements to your toddler and set limits on screen time.
We hope you have found our article helpful. If you would like to know more about our football classes, please click here.