Young children are naturally active, curious little beings and if you’ve spent more than 20 minutes in their company, you’ll know they like to be constantly on the move!
We’ve all heard the advice about ‘tiring your little one out’ so they’ll sleep soundly through the night, but how much physical activity does your toddler actually need?
Start as you mean to go on
Setting healthy habits from birth can go a long way in decreasing the chance of your child developing chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as improving their mood, agility, and coordination and helping them to build strong muscles and healthy bones.
The good news is that any and all activity counts, even when it’s in short bursts, so try not to get too frustrated when they enthusiastically throw their toys all around the floor. Again.
Even before your baby learns to crawl, you can encourage the development of their activity levels by offering plenty of supervised tummy time and leaving toys slightly outside their reach so they have to work a little harder to stretch towards them.
By the time your little one becomes a toddler, you might want to get your running shoes on as they’ll likely be ready to move things up a gear.
How much physical activity does a toddler need?
The HSE recommends getting your toddler active for about 3 hours per day, although not all in one go unless you want a very tired, cranky little person on your hands.
Activities can include running, hopping, and jumping as well as less vigorous on the floor play, with maybe some building blocks or a train set.
Singing and dancing along to music is a great way to get your toddler moving. Just stick that Frozen CD on repeat and let your little star in the making entertain you.
And of course, it’s never too soon to develop their inner G.A.A capabilities by introducing ball activities like kicking, throwing, and catching. They’ll be lining out for the county in no time.
Make sure to keep your toddler well hydrated throughout and to offer plenty of rest and napping opportunities in amongst their busy day. (You’ll need a cuppa and a breather yourself from all that running around after them!)
Screentime and toddler activity
Some days, Peppa Pig is the only thing that seems to work, and keeping screentime to a minimum can be a struggle. (Let’s face it, it’s not just kids, who amongst us hasn’t lost a whole morning scrolling through Instagram every once in a while?)
It’s recommended that children aged between 18-24 months spend as little time as possible in front of a screen, and that increases to just 1 hour per day for those aged between 2 and 5.
Remember
Children are way more likely to be active if their parents are too, so keeping your own motivation up will go a long way in keeping theirs up too. Play games with your young child like chasing and skipping and as they get older, choose activities that you can enjoy together. It will increase the likelihood of you all sticking with it and you’ll be like the Brady Bunch on bicycles before you know it!
If your child has an underlying health condition, or a movement or sensory difficulty, you may need to adapt activities accordingly. While most health conditions will be improved with physical activity, make sure to check in with your child’s G.P before you try something new.
Good luck!
What activities have you been doing with your toddler? Why not share some tips with other Mums over on our discussion boards?
