Family ideas for living an active lifestyle (1-3 years)

Looking for ideas on how to fit in more activity into your family day?

Depending on the age of your child, whether they’re 12 months or nearly starting school, there are different ways of getting in a little more activity, that could be big movements or little. Some of them you may even do without realising!

1-3-year-olds

Using your hands:

• Building towers and train tracks
• Posting toy games
• Puzzles
• Turn-taking games
• Keeping a balloon in the air
• Trying to catch and pop bubbles
• Catch

Keeping moving:

• Floor play and tummy time
• Cruising furniture
• Practising standing, crawling and sitting
• Reaching for toys

Music and movement:

• Playing an instrument like shakers, tambourine, drum pad
• Singing and nursery rhymes
• Moving to music and/or dancing

Games:

• Peak a boo
• Pat-a-cake
• Talking- conversation turn taking
• Rolling ball back and forth
• This little piggy

Sporty activities:

• Playing with balls
• Swimming
• Tiny Happy People find an activity

Imaginative play: 

• Hide and seek
• Games to encourage brain development and imagination

Out and about:

• Fresh air walks in buggy or pram around parks, coast, woods and forest, outside play

There’s plenty more, but we hope these give you some inspiration to start.