10 Ways To Engage Your Child In Active Play

Last Updated on June 7, 2022 by babygatesplus.com

Are you wondering how to engage your child in active play? Pediatrics will always recommend parents limit the time their kids spend on the screens and engage them in active play.

However, once you have turned off the television and switched off the iPhone and tablets, you may seem clueless about what is next. Engaging children in active play can be difficult, especially if you don’t know how to.

It is also quite intimidating to engage children in an activity if you don’t have the experience with them. But it does not have to be that hard, children are fun and once you can capture their attention, you will be in a position to get them involved in an activity.

Here are 10 things you can try to engage your child in active play.

1. Take A Walk

Instead of you and your baby spending all the time indoors, you can take your baby for a walk outside. You can use a stroller if the baby doesn’t know how to walk. Make sure the walks are long and quite fast. As you walk, try to engage the baby in conversation like “we are walking very fast, “Do you feel the cool breeze on your face?” This will make the baby know that anytime spent outdoors is meant for active play.

2. Play With Your Child

Participate in your child’s game and help them learn new tricks to winning. While participating, make sure you give your children an active role so that they get the chance to try things by themselves.

Normally, children will always see their parents as role models and want to be in a position to do what their parents are doing. Likewise, the baby will want to learn and perfect whatever game you are playing so that they can win. Baby will also find it fun when you play along with them.

3. Tell Stories. They Are Always Interesting

Nothing captures a child’s attention more than a well-told story in an interesting way. Your children’s brain remembers stories more than any other information you may feed them. Telling stories is also the best way to teach children something.

Make sure that apart from being interesting, your stories have a lesson at the end. To engage children actively when telling a story, you can tell them to act as some of the characters in the story.

4. Encourage Movement

Children generally like to move. As a parent, you should not slow them down but encourage their movement. You should encourage movement-based play even before your child can move objects by themselves. For example, help your baby wave their arm so they can rattle shake toys that make musical sounds when shaken. By doing this, your baby will connect play as physical activity.

5. Get Musical

Babies connect easily with motion-based play with the music. This is because they are naturally attuned to musical rhythms. Research shows that the easiest way to connect a baby to movement is by using musical rhythms.

They will slowly learn how to clap their hands, reach high or low, snap their fingers, and stamp their feet with the song’s beat. You will soon see your kids imitating their emotions to songs you play on your music system by learning these simple movements. The market is flooded with various musical toys you should invest in to engage your child in active play.

6. Take Movement-based Classes

There are a lot of places to take your kid offering yoga classes, swimming, and tumbling. If you have time, it is good to accompany your child to such classes. This will help them understand that active play is an important daily routine. If you are not a fitness enthusiast, there are trained professionals who will help your kid with active play.

7. Find A Fun Activity

Not all active activities will please your kid. It is therefore important to look for the fun activity that your kid will love doing. Then, you can all participate in the activity as a family to cheer up the kid. Remember that the more a kid enjoys a particular activity, the more likely they are to do it for long and often. Therefore, finding an enjoyable activity for your child will help them stay active.

8. Use Colors

Colors work magic when it comes to kids, especially the young ones. Using colorful visuals is one way of getting kids’ full attention. Take the kids outside and tell them to draw and color whatever they see. By doing this, kids will be moving their bodies while exercising their creative minds.

9. Reward Your Child’s Movement

One way to encourage your child to participate in active play is by rewarding them. Simple rewards like high-fives, cheers, and tickles are great ways to reinforce movement and that your child is doing a great job by staying active.

Kids are made happy by simple things, which can encourage them to keep doing more to get more rewards. For bigger kids, you can promise to take them for ice cream or anything they love after they have engaged in active play.

For example, you can decide to ride bicycles together and later go to your favorite ice cream joint. Children will always be looking forward to engaging in the active activity.

10. Choose Active Games

It is wise to select active rather than passive games when engaging your child in active play. Passive games can easily bore a child and it may be hard to get their full attention. Instead, go for active games that are interesting and that will keep the child engaged. Children always love what they can see, touch or smell. It is therefore important to provide as much as real experiences as possible.

To avoid weight and health issues, children should be physically active. By applying these tips, you can engage your kids in active play.