Idea on fun ways to get little ones "running?"

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Aboveallislove

Super Moderator
Our son is 3 and I've come of with several silly ways to get him really running (i.e. make a little "track" in the living room by putting his toys in the middle in a line and then putting on some good 80s music and running with him; putting a toy on a chair and then telling it to stay and then he'll grab it and run away while I try to put it back; putting cotton balls at one end of the "track" and a bucket at the other and racing to get them in). About 5 times a week I can get him really into it and he'll run pretty hard, getting his breathing going fast--sometimes triggering coughs and other times not. I'm wondering if others have similar suggestions for indoor activities like that? Also, any idea on whether "no coughing" times is "good" (nothing there to come up) or "bad" (it is too thick to come up).

Thanks for any ideas!
 
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AleksandraKaczynska

New member
:) nice
you can get a huge not heavy ball and play "ball burns".. the child-children stand on one side of the room and run twards you while you throw the ball and try to hit then.. but you need big empty space. Great fun - kid love it
or play :chopper, aeroplane, rocket - hands imitate the vehicles and you run around faster and faster and then... bummm. the rocket hits ground :)
try also "dancing" for little kids: boogie beebies
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/boogie-beebies/songs/
really recomend the "dances"
there is also an old game - one person is the sleeping bear and is sitting on the ground, others go around in close circle signing: the old bear is sleeping, the old bear is sleeping, we are so afraid, we are so quiet, when he wakes he'll eat us,,, then the bear slowly moves according to song: the old bear is sleeping, the old bear is snorring, the old bear is...!cathing! and then start to catch one and... well... giggless and so on :)
also you can get him a small trampoline and a gym mat and do all sorts of excersises using upper muscles
I used to send Asia to a gym class for little tikes - kids from 3 to 5 - just gym,music, running around and so on... she never got sick from that but once, there where kids around - so fun.fun..fun...
it was in judo club also with fun judo for kids from 5 up - twice a week. maybe you can get him in a class like that. Asia started the gym when was 2,5 for over a year and now she is almost 5 and was in balet dancing class since almost 4 with kids older - 6 - - it's possible if you stay durring the class - outside - but at hand - and the group is rather small..and also ...big atraction - other kids :)
she also went to swimming classes once a week - but this year was the last for her since she is going to grade 0 to school in a months time - so we'll stick to balet onlly I guess and other home attractions and bike ans so on. But we'll see what she chooses.
 
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Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
DS has taken ice skating and tennis lessons. His daycare has always had them walking everywhere and particpating in sports. I did sign him up for baseball, but most of the time was spent just standing around the field, so DH figured he could teach him at home. He's currently taking gymnastics. Figure we just encourage him to be active, find a sport he likes...
 
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AleksandraKaczynska

New member
the boogie-beebies Asia's favorite dance-song :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=098iJZZB0Ek&feature=fvsr
but there are others also :) and you can do this at home
however I remember at 3 - she needed other kids around

below are some poor pics from that gymnastics - but it was an hour of laughting, screaming, running, jumping with music and and so on...
http://asik-ak.blogspot.com/2009/12/gimnastyka-dla-smyka.html

our idea was to get her out of home but not to kindergarden rooms to play with other kids and get her used to some kind of activites...
 
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Rebjane

Super Moderator
When my daughter was little(she's 9 and a half) now, I was the Mom who encouraged my kids to jump up and down on their beds. They loved it; lots of fun and good exersize...Course I made sure they didn't fall off.:) Tickling and laughing is always a good way to get the lungs working, laughing and coughing.

Lately now that my girl is an older child, she does soccer in the fall...Softball in the spring. She's the one running as hard as she can, she's not the fastest but she's the one working the hardest and sucking wind to keep up, with a smile.

THis summer she goes to the beach and swims in the ocean or lake; fabulous exercize and fun too.

I always have her drink ALOT after any exersize...We always have G2 on hand........
 
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JENNYC

New member
We have a trampoline that my kids practically live on when they are outside and talk about getting them breathing hard and all the jumping and knocking their bodies around when they bounce on their backs and tummies, I feel like really helps clear out gunk. I try to jump with them occasionally and I can't hack more than about 10 minutes and I'm huffing and puffing like I just ran a marathon and I'm only 33 and in good shape! But apparently not as good as my kids LOL! My son always says mommy my heart is beeping(beating) really fast!! They have so much fun! And Clayton loved playing on it before Abby came along as well, so it can be entertaining without a sibling as well.

And we just recently got gymnastics within driving distance of us, and Abby starts that on Saturday! Very excited about that because she is a little ball of nothing but muscles and all the flipping upside down I think will be wonderful for her lungs! The indoor track sounds like a good idea too, and the ball game above too!!
 
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Melissa75

Administrator
I'm the one with the lung problems not my kids, but one thing we started doing together--inspired by watching American Ninja Warrior--is going to the playground and inventing obstacle courses. Then we use my phone, a stopwatch app, to time ourselves doing the course (one at a time so as not to hurt each other).
Aboveall... this is kinda like what you're doing but the 6,9,10 yr old version.
An example is: do the monkey bars, run up the slide, climb down the ladder, walk the beam, crawl through the tunnel and sprint back to the bench. For the most part my kids get that they're competing against their own time s, not each other. Their skills are diverse enough that they excel at different things. They love doing this and it totally make us all pant.
 
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Aboveallislove

Super Moderator
Thanks everyone--some great ideas! I actually do the obstacle course idea too and have a mini trampoline but I know the big one is so much better. I love the idea of adding the "stop watch" and timing b/c dear son loves "clocks/time"! Thanks everyone
 
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ContinuallyRefined

New member
SO awesome you're thinking about this, Aboveallislove!! Keep the creative juices flowing! I think as important as continuing to keep the fun factor high is to model exercise endlessly as parents. If you told him *nothing* but simply exercised as a family regularly and as parents (bike, run, ski, swim, gym etc.) I bet big money he'll carry that into his adult life starting in college when you're biting your nails wondering if he's exercising or not. I was very fortunate and fell into surfing at an early age. Now I rotate through all that other stuff as my health waxes and wanes.
 
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Aboveallislove

Super Moderator
Jason,

Does modelling eating all his high-fat/high calorie foods count? At 3, he still has YET to try something sweet, nothingstanding my great example, a/k/a last night Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream! ;-)) (But you do have a great point!)
 
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Aboveallislove

Super Moderator
Jason,
Neither--he's picky and doesn't want to try many foods and for some reasons sweets/sugars are one of them. He's a carnavor (sp?).
 
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