Indoor Play for Kids Who Need to Move
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Are you cramped inside this winter with active children?
When my youngest was an infant, the winter dragged on and on. She was a NICU baby and I was terrified to take her outside in anything but ideal weather.
I also had a five and three-year-old who were spiraling with ENERGY after school. They needed to move, jump, fidget, and be free. There was no way my kids were sitting still and coloring quietly all afternoon while I fed and soothed my fussy newborn. I had to find a way to keep them active without heading into the bad weather with my infant.
Gross Motor Activities INSIDE
Children need movement and sensory input in order to regulate. If they do not get that YOU WILL KNOW.
Make any indoor movement activity more valuable if you think about MAXIMUM OUTPUT.
Here is exactly how to do that:
Moving HEAVY furniture can really help your restless preschooler.
Give them a real job and have them bring the full laundry baskets to the washing machine.
Rearrange the kitchen chairs at the table. For a toddler, it can be like a life-size puzzle.
Let them help you take out those big, heavy cans of tomatoes in your pantry, dust them off, and put them back in. Ask your preschooler to “organize” for you. They’ll love it.
Any activity that incorporates the use of mind and body will be a win.
Another trick? Gentle full-body squeezing and massage can go a long way with a kid who needs to run and swing and spin. Have them pretend to be a lump of playdough and you can “mold” them!
Let’s Get to the Good Stuff: 3 Indoor Activities
OBSTACLE COURSE:
This is such a simple invitation to play that makes for some great indoor gross motor activities, and once you do it a few times, your kids will start to set it up on their own.
Push the rug to the side and move that coffee table out of the way.
Use blocks/ painters tape/ couch cushions/ anything at all. Set it up in a zig-zag line and let your kids follow the path stepping over or jumping over the objects as they go.
Time them and see if they can beat their previous score.
Try turning on and off the music and do the course freeze dance style.
CREATIVE RACING:
Hear me out on this one… I am not talking about running around inside.
Grab your painter’s tape and line the floors or rugs in crazy weird loops and zigzags. Go in and out of rooms and up hallways if you have them.
Depending on age and development, as your kiddos to hop the course
Crab crawl the course
Walk the course backward
See how many steps it takes going heel to toe
See how large they can step to get from the beginning to end in the fewest lunges
Let your kids go nuts in the designated area. Jumping, spinning, dancing, hopping, whatever they want.
DEFINE A SAFE AREA FOR INDOOR GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES:
Set up a baby gate pen or designate an area using tape. Let your kids go nuts in the designated area. Jumping, spinning, dancing, hopping, whatever they want.
Having this safe space for big and wild movements takes the danger out of it when you are inside.
You don’t have to worry about racing around the apartment and sharp coffee table edges.
You can feel safe that your big one won’t clobber your little one in a lot of energy
GET A BELLY SCOOTER:
Use the rule, bellies or bottoms only. Be firm on this and take it away if they don’t listen (no skateboarding).
Any of the above activities are awesome and more impactful when you add a belly scooter. Try the obstacle course, or attach a rope and let them pull each other around or pull around a big pile of books or blocks.
Want to know my best tip for being cramped inside during the winter? GO OUTSIDE. Even if it is just for a few minutes. You’ll be glad you did.
Items We Love For Indoor Play
Indoor Swing / 2. Wooden Balance Beam / 3. Colorful Painters Tape / 4. Colorful Stepping Stones / 5. Wooden Rocker / 6. Scooter Board / 7. Ball Pit / 8. Small Slide / 9. Wooden Balance Board / 10. Foam Play Structure
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When my kids were small, I was a SAHM and I did not need childcare. I wanted my kids to be exposed to valuable sports and lessons, but it was more important to me to protect their unscheduled downtime. Leaving as many afternoons open as possible was my goal. At school, they were told when to sit, where to walk, and how to learn. It’s structured down to the minute. At home, I felt that my job was to provide the balance.