Tips for preparing sports exercises at home

Children already have in infancy a natural urge to move, which should also be actively encouraged in their later years. For them it is natural to express their creativity and imagination with their bodies and to explore their surroundings and the world outside their own front door.

Mobility and dexterity play a crucial role in children's development. So, sports exercises are essential for actively promoting children's motor skills. To make sure your little ones never lose their enjoyment of sports or become couch potatoes, you should lead by example.

Practice family sports regularly

You should view physical activities and exercises as a natural resource and accordingly integrate them into your family routine. This doesn't necessarily have to happen through scheduled workouts. You can already incorporate more movement into everyday situations:

The next trip to the supermarket can, for example, be tackled as a running route or an extended walk, or children's sport at home can take the form of exuberant dance sessions to their favorite music.

Whether funny jumping jacks, challenging push-ups, or extensive gymnastics sessions – Exercise routines can be very varied. Every kind of movement is good for health and should ideally be part of everyday family life.

Children should do at least one hour of physical activity daily. Whether outdoors or indoors, it doesn't matter. Preschool children should ideally be active for up to three hours a day.

Designing exercise routines: together is the key

Exercise routines should not only fulfill purely physical aspects. It is equally important to include creativity and playfulness, so that children gain sufficient enjoyment and motivation for sport. They especially like it when their parents take part. Together, especially challenging exercises are best mastered.

Support your kids with different variations of the exercises and act as mentors rather than being overly critical. Bring lots of patience and understanding! Because even in home sports the saying applies: practice makes perfect.

Be responsive to your children & let them have a say!

Create a pleasant sports atmosphere in which your children are allowed to have a say, how your sports sessions and the focus within them should look.

Toddlers love exercises in which they can move freely to their favorite children's songs, whereas primary school children already want to tackle initial challenging workouts.

Above all, follow the needs, abilities and interests of your children.

Well prepared: sports clothing for little gymnasts

Of course, safety comes first in your sports sessions. So you should keep a few tips in mind in advance and prepare individual steps. For your exercises you need sports clothing that is neither too tight nor too loose. Your children must be able to move freely.

Also, clothing should have no zippers and buttons present, because your kids could injure themselves on these. To avoid slipping on the exercise mats, you should perform your activities preferably barefoot .

Find & equip a suitable training area

Also make sure that your training location is child-safe.

If necessary, you may need to move some pieces of furniture before the exercise session so that you have enough free space for everyone involved.

Depending on the exercise, you need different equipment. Whether yoga mats, gym balls, juggling scarves, or other movement toys – the selection depends entirely on your sports program.

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Sports exercises are healthy for body and mind. Plenty of movement should therefore be an essential part of your daily life to create balance and to improve your health and quality of life.

In addition to physical benefits such as an improved sensory perception regular exercise promotes also the social, emotional and cognitive skills of your children.

Consequently, it can be stated that your little ones learn for life in sports lessons — and that without consciously noticing it. a matter of course and a pleasant activity that one wants to repeat at any time.

What specific benefits do sports exercises offer? HABA has an overview of the special and positive effects on body and mind put together here for you.

The benefits at a glance

Sports exercises …

• … keep the musculoskeletal system healthy, strengthen the muscles and the immune system… strengthen and train the cardiovascular system

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-Kreislaufsystem: The heart muscle supplies every cell with sufficient oxygen and nutrients by circulating blood through the body. Regular exercise sessions strengthen the muscle and blood circulation is automatically improved. improve sleep quality

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-Kreislaufsystem: Physically active children fall asleep more easily and sleep more soundly. … lead to stress reduction. Children's sports provide a balance to all the stimuli they are exposed to every day.

• increase mental fitness and quality of life

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-Kreislaufsystem. With sufficient movement, nerve cells are continuously supplied with oxygen, which leads to improved performance and concentration. promote teamwork skills

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-Kreislaufsystem: Group movement games and certain sports strengthen your children's sense of belonging. strengthen general well-being

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-Kreislaufsystemteach how to deal with one's own emotions… strengthen and train the cardiovascular system

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-Kreislaufsystem. Children get to know and understand their bodies better. This way they can interpret warning signs from the body and act accordingly. improve dealing with one's own limits and abilities

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-Kreislaufsystem. Athletic kids find it easier to come to terms with their physical limits, weaknesses and strengths. boost self-confidence

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-Kreislaufsystem: Achievements underpin your kids' self-esteem and self-confidence. That motivates them to keep at it. promote perseverance and ambition

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-Kreislaufsystem, to pursue goals. … build your kids' decisiveness.

• … reduce the risk of becoming overweight or suffering from other nutrition-related diseases.

• prevent postural weaknesses or damage

• stärken und trainieren das Herz-KreislaufsystemWhat you should know about sports with children… strengthen and train the cardiovascular system

Playing sports with children is fun and can be actively promoted already in your children's first months of life. Whether children's sports in clubs or with you parents at home –

Movement in any form is healthy and important for child development. How do you best approach joint sports sessions? HABA explains it to you: In addition to

the most important information and tips about sports with kids, you can find on the relevant topic page which sports suit your little gymnasts. Browse through the page and get active!

My child is not into sports: What to do?

Many children have

not necessarily the desire to follow their natural urge to move every day and to become physically active. If even movement games and a workout with favorite exercises no longer help, it seems almost impossible to motivate the kids to be more active. How can you get your kids who aren't into sports motivated again?

HABA has for you on the corresponding topic page

ideas and tips compiled that help you motivate your kids who aren't into sports.  Sports games for children

Fun sports games are essential to combine play and learning.

. Not least because of this, your little ones gain more motivation to do sports. Whether funny tag games or specific gymnastics exercises

, which turn your living space into a unique obstacle course – sports games are possible both indoors and outdoors. Which sporty game ideas can you implement? HABA has

the most popular ideas and exercises as well as important tips on the page about sports games for children summarized. Let yourselves be inspired to great play sessions and pick out the instructions that interest you most – let's go! The benefits of sports exercises for children

Sports exercises for children: simple instructions for lots of fun

Now you probably want to start your first sports session right away, but you're not quite sure which exercises to try? HABA has numerous sports exercises collected for children and summarized here for you.

Whether fun garden games or indoor movement games – there's something here for every age. So you'll surely find the right sporty game ideas for you.

Sports exercises for toddlers

To toddlers moving to keep them moving, there are various sports exercises that at first glance are not recognizable as such. For sporting activities for children of this age, fun always comes first. This is partly due to their not yet fully developed concentration ability and partly to skills that they are only just discovering step by step.

They particularly like games that, with music (well-known children's songs or audiobooks matching the theme), lead to more movement. They learn to follow their own movement patterns and thus satisfy their urge to move.

Below you'll find great ideas for toddlers that you can try out right away.

Treasure hunt with sporty checkpoints

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Decide during the preparation of your game where the start and end point of your treasure hunt should be.

2. Tip: It's best if you parents take care of this and the next step, because your kids shouldn't know in advance which sporting tasks and which "route" they will follow.

3. Hide several tasks and clues at different places along your set route through the apartment or house. The tasks each involve a sporting activity such as jumping jacks or gymnastics exercises. The clues indicate where the next station with the next task and a clue can be found. At the last station place a reward – perhaps a sweet treat.

4. Now it's your children's turn: after the start you set, head to the first station. There your kids practice the sports exercises listed on the task slips. Once the task is completed, they receive a clue for the next station.

5. This continues until your kids have found the reward and thus completed the sporty treasure hunt.

Playing tag: Plumpsack

Step-by-step instructions:

1. All players form a circle and look to the middle.

2. One person walks around the circle with a juggling cloth or a small ball (whichever you prefer).

3. They try to place the cloth or ball behind another player as unnoticed as possible.

4. If the player notices the juggling cloth or the ball, they grab it and chase after the player who placed it there.

5. If the person who placed the object manages to run once around the circle without being caught, they may take the catcher’s place.

6. Now the catcher is up and tries to place the cloth or ball behind another player unnoticed. The rest of the game works just like in the previous steps described.

Wheelbarrow race

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Mark a start and finish line. Form teams of two and stand one behind the other.

2. The child who stands in front is the wheelbarrow and places their hands on the ground in front of them. They stretch the rest of their body out long.

3. The child behind takes the feet or ankles of the wheelbarrow child in their hands and stands upright with a firm stance.

4. Now you can time it and compete against another wheelbarrow team or just find out how fast you can go from the start line to the finish and back.

Dance to your heart's content

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Turn on the radio or play your favorite CD with great children's songs: let the rhythmic sounds inspire movement. Toddlers especially love to move naturally and as they please. It doesn't have to look like a rehearsed choreography for you to have fun. Your creativity and imagination therefore have no limits.

2. If you'd rather listen to an audiobook instead of children's songs, you can also combine that with physical exercises. For this, choose a word that you will listen for. Whenever that word occurs, do jumping jacks, a gymnastics exercise, or try a light version of push-ups for the first time.

Exercises with the gym ball

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Have your children lie on their stomachs on the gym ball. They can still support themselves with their hands and feet on the floor.

2. Now your kids carefully lift their feet off the floor. Then try to move forward until their thighs are on the ball. If your little ones are still a bit unsure, you can support them by holding a hand on each side next to them to intervene in an emergency and give them a sense of security.

3. If your gymnasts can balance on the ball a little longer, the next step is to roll back step by step – until their feet touch the floor again.

Freeze dance with sporty breaks

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Appoint a game leader who takes care of the music and watches your performances.

2. Now all players go onto the "dance floor".

3. The game leader starts the music and all the children move as they please.

4. If the game leader stops the music, all the children must – unlike usual – become active and perform a specific exercise. Whether jumping jacks, gymnastics exercises, or running on the spot – you decide which exercises are desired.

5. Whoever can't continue is out and takes a breather.

Sports exercises for elementary school children

While toddlers are only just getting to know their abilities step by step, older kids can already endurance or other technical sports exercises tackle.

Here you get an impression of which sports exercises are possible.

Inline skate course

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Use cones to set up a small but nice obstacle course in your garden or outside your front door. Whether sharper turns or evasive maneuvers like going around a bucket filled with water – your creativity and ideas have no limits. Then you can start right away.

2. Put on the inline skates and off you go: try to complete your obstacle course with as few mistakes as possible. And if you're a bit more practiced, run the whole thing against the clock.

The crab

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Begin the exercise sitting. Place your feet on the floor, legs bent. Support yourself on your hands, which you place behind your buttocks.

2. Turn your hands slightly outward.

3. Now try to push your buttocks slightly off the ground and straighten your arms while doing so.

4. Your hands should now be under your shoulders. Then move with your hands and feet in small steps forward, sideways, or backward – just like a crab does.

Long throw contest

Step-by-step instructions:

1. First decide in your garden or on another free area near your house where the start and finish line should be.

2. Once you've completed the first step, you can start. Each player gets three small balls, pine branches, or other materials suitable for long throwing.

3. Each player has three attempts to throw their throwing material from the starting line near the finish line.

4. Whoever is closest wins.

Kids yoga

Step-by-step instructions:

1. First clear a large area in your living space so that you can perform the movements fully. Then lay out your yoga or exercise mats.

2. Then sit in a cross-legged position or another comfortable upright sitting position to consciously inhale a few breaths through the nose and exhale through the mouth.

3. Now stand upright to take the warrior pose.

4. Step to the left with your left foot, then bend the leg to a 90-degree angle.

5. With your torso, move sideways in the direction of the bent leg. Place your left arm on the leg. Raise your right arm stretched up.

6. The whole right side of your body is now extended. As soon as you notice you're getting a little weak, switch sides.

7. Of course, you can also try other yoga exercises. Just research which exercises exist and try many different ones. That way you'll find out which yoga exercises work best for you.

Hula hoop

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Try to keep the hula hoop in your midsection as long as possible by making slight circular movements with your hips.

2. At first this won't work for very long. The rule here is: persist and practice as much as possible. Soon you'll be hula-hoop champions.

Volleyball with balloons

Step-by-step instructions:

1. First inflate your balloons to the desired size and tie the ends well so that no air can escape.

2. Now it's time to start: try to keep the balloon in the air as long as possible with your hands. For toddlers this is an easy variant. Once your elementary school children are practiced at it, you can make the exercise a bit harder.

3. To make your balloon volleyball a bit harder, you can try to spin around your own axis when tossing the balloon up. You should turn as quickly as possible so that you can catch the balloon again with your hands in time or keep it in the air.

Image credits:

Baby being held by both hands while learning to walk © Evrymmnt - stock.adobe

Family playing soccer© Svitlana - stock.adobe

Mother doing yoga and girl sitting on the exercise mat© teksomolika - stock.adobe

Parents holding children by their feet© natalialeb - stock.adobe

Two children dancing in the room© Halfpoint - stock.adobe

Two children dancing with their father© Halfpoint - stock.adobe

Girl and boy with a ball in hand© Yaroslav Astakhov - stock.adobe

Mother lying on the exercise mat and child lying on her legs© Jacob Lund - stock.adobe

Boy holding a balloon in front of his face© Irina Schmidt - stock.adobe