3 Physical Activity Ideas for Kids That Come With Amazing Benefits

Physical activity from a young age is is incredibly important for kids to help them develop healthy habits and the skills needed to continue being physically active as they grow into adults.

Being physically active helps children to develop strong and healthy bones and muscles, promotes healthy development and growth, and improves balance and other skills, as well as helps children to maintain a healthy body weight. It also contributes to boost a child’s self-confidence and self-esteem.

Physical activity is considered so important that in California you can claim Children’s Fitness Tax Credit.

Here are some excellent activities for kids:

Kids Dance Classes

Dance classes are absolutely amazing for kids and they can start from very young as long as you find an age appropriate class. Kids love to dance and even from before they can walk they will be bopping along to music.

Dancing also comes with many benefits for kids that are hard to ignore and it is probably one of the most fun activities for a child to take part in.

Children get to learn how to dance in a social setting. They take turns, work as a group, share, coordinate, form lines, perform, interact, understand space, watch and support each other. Very often you will see an incredibly strong bond form between dancers because of these close interactions with each other.

Dancing also helps children with their cognitive development. It helps them understand and connect that movement can be utilized as a response to a problem which creates a cognitive link towards an outcome or solution. It is common practice for learners to do things like jump over something like a blanket or scarf which they pretend is a river so they don’t get wet.

This achieves a number of concepts such as imagination, problem solving, space recognition balance, leg extension and transferring weight.

Dancing is an art form that teaches children how to express themselves and gives them a way to handle their world while their verbal skills are still developing.

Dance classes offer children a structured outlet for healthy emotional and physical release that assists them to develop emotional maturity.

Ball Sports

Ball sports are very popular among children and learning how to play a variety of ball games comes with many great benefits for your child. It is a wonderful way to get children fit and keep them fit while having fun and improving relationships. One of the amazing things is that your child will run for miles while not noticing because his attention is on the task at hand and not on the physical exertion it takes.

Ball sports improve gross motor skills, coordination and timing, as well as spatial recognition. Valuable lessons are also taught with regards to working together as a team and how to handle defeats and victories in the right way. Children will learn new skills, make new friends, gain confidence and improve their social skills.

It is important to note that not all children will have great talent when it comes to ball skills and children will learn at different paces when ti comes to learning different ball games. Some children will struggle with coordination and timing while others take to it naturally. Very often a child that struggles with ball skills early on will suddenly catch on and become a highly skilled player later on so it is important not to out too much emphasis on this when children are young.

Encourage your child, don’t put too much emphasis on skill, rather let your child know it is all about the fun of the game.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is an excellent sport activity for your child that also offers many benefits. One of the best things about gymnastic is that little kids just love doing all sorts of acrobatics already – this helps them to channel that infatuation into new skills.

Gymnastics is loads of fun and packed with great benefits for your child. Gymnastic is excellent for developing cognitive skills – learning a gymnastic routine requires children to make use of their mind and their body. The left side and the right side of their brain will need to work together which will increase your child’s body awareness and improve spatial awareness.

It is a weight bearing activity that will help with strong and healthy bone development. Building strong, healthy bones early on in life can reduce the signs of osteoporosis when your child is an adult.

Gymnastics will help your child to build overall body strength. Your child will gain lower body, upper body and core strength through gymnastic exercises.

Coordination is improved through gymnastics and alignment skills that include walking, standing and jumping are gained. This will help your child to be less clumsy and more agile which will benefit your child in all other sports and physical activities.

Gymastics will improve your child’s flexibility and improve your child’s posture, both of which will decrease chances of injury.

Having a healthy body helps to prevent diseases both as a child, but also later in life. Being active and healthy will help to prevent diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma and obesity.

Gymnastics will help to provide the necessary discipline and self-control that all toddlers and children need to develop. Self-control and discipline and essential life skills that are needed in order to accomplish tasks, work with others and to work alone. These skills will help your child in school, other sports and later in life in a work environment too.

Mastering gymnastics, being able to learn and complete routines and being in control will help your child greatly when it comes to confidence and self-esteem.