Be Physically Active: Keep your family fit by encouraging them to be physically active.
Preschool-aged children should get at least 60 minutes of structured physical activity and 60 minutes of unstructured physical activity each day. Young children should also not be inactive for more than one hour at a time, unless sleeping.
Structured Activities
Structured play includes activities organized by an adult. While your child probably participates in structured play in his or her classroom, it is beneficial to continue activities at home. Some simple ideas to play with your child at home include:
- Tag
- Red Light, Green Light
- Catch
- Simon Says
- Freeze Dance
Unstructured Active Play
Unstructured play happens when children are allowed to play with supervision but without being told what to do. For example, children engage in unstructured active play when they run, climb and pretend.
*The Nemours Foundation. (2012). KidsHealth: Raising a Fit Preschooler. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/fit_preschooler.html
Family Fun Activity: Freeze Dance
Use this easy activity to help your child learn.
What You Need:
- Music
What To Do:
- Play music and dance with your child when the music is playing
- Stop the music
- Everyone must freeze in place when the music stops
- Continue playing the music, stopping it periodically
- Challenge your child to come up with new dance moves while the music is playing
This is publication 22 out of 24 in the Eat Healthy, Be Active: Keeping Children Healthy at Home and School series. For more information visit www.eathealthybeactive.net
