Indoor Games and Fitness Fun for Children

By Laurette Willis –

Looking for ways to keep your children occupied indoors?

Try not to fall into the TV/Computer-as-Babysitter trap. The TV may seem to keep them occupied, but feeding on those images will not spark their imagination or creativity. If you need to have noise in the home, turn on Christian radio or play CDs instead. Remember what the Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 NKJV). If we allow the TV to train up our children, there’s going to be trouble!

Provide Alternatives to TV and Computer

Here are some ideas for hours of fun to spark children’s creativity and preserve your sanity!

1. Campout!

Make a tent out of sheets and blankets. Nothing like a sheet fort to spark the imagination! Drape sheets over sofas, chairs or the kitchen table.

If using an old sheet, you or the children can cut holes for windows and doors. Then let loose, get in the tent and tell some stories! It will bring back some happy memories and your children may remember the fun they had with you for a lifetime.

2. Captain Midnight

Players: 4 or more

How to Play: Choose someone to be Captain Midnight. Everyone else then yells, “Captain Midnight, what time is it?” The Captain responds by yelling any number from one to twelve.

Each player walks that many steps toward the Captain. If they can touch him, then they are the new Captain. However, keep your ears open because at any time the Captain can shout out, “Midnight,” which means you have to run away from the Captain. If the Captain catches you, you become his assistant, helping him to catch other players.

3. Walk Like a Crab.

Set up a finish line at the other end of the room with pillows or tape. Get on your hands and feet like a crab (with your stomach facing the ceiling) and see how long it takes you to crawl to the finish line.

4. Balloon-a-Thon!

The object of the game is to hit the balloon and not to let it touch the ground. Each round you can choose a different body part as the part you use to bounce the balloon.

For example, bounce it with your nose, bounce it with your foot or bounce it with your belly. If you are playing alone, see how many times in a row you can hit the balloon before it touches the ground.

If you are playing with a group, no one person can bounce it two times in a row.

5. Exercise Stations

Choose exercises with an element of fun such as seeing how long you can balance a book on your head, dancing, lifting soup cans as weights, hopping or marching in place. Challenge the kids to see how many exercises they can complete in a set amount of time. The child completing the most of each exercise is the winner. Get creative and have ribbons for participants.

No matter what your age, go make some memories with your children and grandchildren. They’ll forget the TV show and video game, but they’ll never forget the fun they had with you!

Christian Fitness Expert Laurette Willis is the Director of PraiseMoves Fitness Ministry (http://PraiseMoves.com and on Facebook http://bit.ly/aAlS4u). Laurette just launched her new indoor/outdoor walking program: http://PowerPromises.com