3 fun exercises you can do with your child

Over the last 13 years, as a senior physiotherapist and Pilates instructor, I have trained many children from the age of 7 to teenagers in Pilates, with a very specific purpose.

The most common reason is lack of coordination, which often results in shying away from any physical-based activity. This is not innate and can be fixed with training.

Here are my top 3 exercises you can do with your child at home to get them started:

1. Exercise for greater coordination

Working on coordination is a major factor in Pilates, especially for kids. It’s also a great way in helping them develop skills such as performing two different tasks at the same time.

One of my favourite activities is having your child jump on a trampoline (or any unstable surface, sand or even on a pillow) and throw a ball to them at the same time.

As their skill improves, you can make the exercise more complicated and challenging by throwing the ball higher over their head so they have to reach or to the side of their body or get them to jump using one foot only.

2. Exercise to improve agility and power

Incorporating different physical exercises can increase children’s agility and power.

For example, running drills that involve changing direction and speed are great in replicating what your child will need to do on the sports field.

A great, simple exercise is to lay out a skipping rope on the ground. With your child standing on one side of the skipping rope, using 2 feet initially, get them to hop over the skipping rope side to side in a zig-zag pattern until they reach the end of the rope. Get them to do this up and down the rope for 2 minutes. They will love it and get exhausted (you’ll be surprised how long 2 minutes of jumping tires out your child). As they get better, they can have a go at this exercise using 1 foot only.

3. Exercise for better balance

There is no doubt that all exercises require some degree of balance whether it’s easy (focusing on one direction) or harder (focusing on two or three directions).

Our aim is to challenge the balance of your child each time, so their brain adapts and their motor skills improve.

A simple exercise you can practice to work on your child’s balance and reaction skills is my 4 directions game. Ask your child to stand on one leg. Call out a direction, front, back, left or right and your child has to hop to face that direction. If they get it right, they get a point. If they get it wrong (eg turn left when you call out right), you get a point. First to 10 wins. Kids love this game and always want to beat their parents or their siblings.

It’s rewarding when we see a difference in a child’s behaviour through these simple Pilates exercises, because we know that what we are doing is working and making a big difference in your child’s sports and social life.

Let us know if you tried these exercises with your children and if they had fun doing them.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

33 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 05 Mar 2022
    10:30 am
iVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS WITH THE VIEW OF GETTING A RESULT OTHER THEN HAVING FUN.

OPPSS SORRY FOR THE CAPS LOCK

- - june11 said
  - 31 Jan 2016
    12:52 pm
I know somebody who actually painted hopscotch on their cement, it started to wear off, probably from being driven over, and was re-painted – 15+ years later it is still there. I remember deawing it on our cement a few times. Until the carport was built it was exposed to the weather. At one stage we used engineers’ chalk as it didn’t wash off with the rain as quickly. A sturdy goal ring will last quite a few years too. Good eye – ball -ring coordination. Apparently I used to very good at and could often put the ball through the ring from standing just inside the “circle”. Now I can’t get it through every often at all. My kids think its quite funny. I hope they haven’t told their friends.

- - mom94378 said
  - 16 Nov 2015
    9:37 pm
Fun stuff for the kids, good bonding time, loads of positives from this.

- - mom94378 said
  - 06 Nov 2015
    10:57 am
Terrific ideas here, so beneficial.

- - jellybean01 said
  - 24 Oct 2015
    11:29 pm
great article thanks for sharing

- - Missey Grace said
  - 14 Oct 2015
    10:40 pm
These are all fun and easy to scale up over time.

- - mom94125 said
  - 14 Oct 2015
    9:09 pm
very good to teach kids these type of habits
- mom94125 replied
  
  23 Oct 2015 , 3:13 pm
  love the trampoline idea though. very cheap to buy one and easy to store under a bed or something.
- - rovermum said
  - 14 Oct 2015
    11:16 am
When I look back, monkey bars, elastics, hopscotch… there were so many games and activities we were involved in just for fun that were also teaching us so many other things. We’ve worked long and hard with our son on exercises for coordination etc. We had the little trampoline inside, the balance board, the ground ladder, crazy catch, and much more. As a teen, we’re still working hard with him with good results.

- - ella12 said
  - 14 Oct 2015
    11:15 am
Thanks heaps, some great ideas here.

- - mom103920 said
  - 14 Oct 2015
    10:40 am
Love the skipping rope idea to zig zag over. One day I set up an obstacle course at my clothes line – an old plank of wood (on the ground) to balance, large bucket lids as stepping stones, two cardboard boxes to climb over. I showed my 2 year old how to follow the pattern. Now she’s 3, and she still goes and gets the bucket lids to set up a game while I hang the washing out. Will incorporate some of these ideas, thanks Michael.

- - aliceou said
  - 14 Oct 2015
    7:21 am
I would like to try them all with my child.

- - mom101628 said
  - 13 Oct 2015
    11:10 pm
Fantastic way to exercise and both child and parent would benefit.

- - mom81879 said
  - 09 Oct 2015
    8:56 pm
These look great. But I’m usually flat out running after them, no time to incorporate exercises

- - rach124 said
  - 07 Oct 2015
    8:41 pm
exercise leads to a tired child which leads to an early bedtime which leads to a happy relaxed mumma!!!!!!!

- - mom107723 said
  - 06 Oct 2015
    10:29 am
Kids need to be shown how and encourage skills through playing with them, its great fun.

- - Rachel said
  - 05 Oct 2015
    4:43 pm
So much entertainment ..options are endless and don’t need to cost the earth ! Great tips

- - mom113055 said
  - 04 Oct 2015
    3:20 pm
you can do

- - mom64843 said
  - 03 Oct 2015
    8:46 pm
So nice to have some warmer weather so we can get out and about with the kids to expel some energy. Thanks for the tips!

- - coastalkaryn said
  - 03 Oct 2015
    6:55 pm
give them love, time, and as much outdoor play as possible – kids will be fine xxxx
- mom93821 replied
  
  04 Oct 2015 , 6:54 am
  It exhausts them too and then they sleep!
- - mom113055 said
  - 03 Oct 2015
    2:51 pm
make exercise fun