4 Exercises You Can Do With Your Toddler
You exercised while you were pregnant and stayed fit after your baby was born. Now that your child is a toddler, you’re wondering how you can squeeze in your workouts while meeting the demands of being a parent. It’s simple: incorporate your toddler into your exercise routine. You’ll get your exercise in for the day while spending quality time with your toddler.
Get in Some Cardio by Dancing
It’s no secret that toddlers love to take advantage of their mobility and move whenever they get the chance. So why not harness that energy and have a dance party? Dancing helps toddlers improve their sense of spatial awareness in addition to:
- Overall body development: Dancing exercises the whole body, teaching coordination and fine motor skills, along with muscle development.
- Learning how to follow instructions: Instructions issued during structured dancing can help teach toddlers how to hone their listening skills.
- Cooperating with others: When dancing with partners, toddlers learn how to work with others to achieve a desired result.
For you, the parent, you get the benefit of letting loose and having some fun in addition to getting your blood pumping and improving your heart health. Not to mention lower your stress levels.
Pick Up Your Toddler
Most toddlers love having their parent pick them up. Take advantage of this love to strengthen your upper body and work out your core. You can cradle them in your arms while doing torso rotations, pick them up and make silly faces before putting them back down and repeating to work out your arms—the list goes on. Just remember that if your toddler doesn’t want to be picked up, move on to another exercise they will enjoy.
Stretch with Some Yoga
Toddlers tend to be quite flexible since their bones have not fused together completely and some are still made solely of cartilage. Introduce your toddler to simple beginner yoga poses by having them mimic you. It’s okay if their pose isn’t exactly like yours—it’s to be expected. Yoga will let them stretch out and use their imagination in addition to challenging them physically. When doing poses that have an animal name, imitate their sounds with your toddler to keep it fun.
Take Your Toddler Running
Running with your child is a good way to get in some cardio and give your toddler a thrill. Go to a large area like a backyard or park and play chase. Of course, you won’t be able to run at your full or perhaps desired speed, but with the bundle of energy toddlers are, slow running will build up over time. If you’re stuck inside, crawl after them on your hands and knees.