Exercises for Toddlers

Encouraging your toddler's physical activity is an important part of keeping him healthy and getting him off to a good start for his future well-being. Exercises for toddlers build off of the physical activities that they already do, avoiding the potential to stress or strain their developing muscles and bones. KidsHealth.org recommends toddlers, on a daily basis, get 30 minutes of structured physical activity, 1 hour of unstructured physical activity and no more than 60 consecutive minutes of inactivity, except when sleeping. When possible, take your toddler outdoors for play, where he can kick a ball, run and observe the natural world -- always stay with him for safety's sake.

  1. Exercising Safely

    • Toddlers can already walk, run and throw, and they are learning to jump, hop and climb. Toddler exercises are based on these naturally occurring activities because that is what their little bodies are ready to handle. Exercises that focus on activities that a toddler isn't yet doing can cause injuries, including to bones and muscles. That is why dance classes and other physically demanding activities restrict certain types of positions and activities for their youngest participants.

    Active Learning

    • Combining physical activity with learning is a great way to teach toddlers the names of their body parts, according to Education.com. Start out slow and touch different parts of the body while saying their names. Order the body parts so that there is bending and stretching. Keep the rate of speed slow and gradually get faster, so that there is stretching before the slightly more strenuous activity.

    Imaginative Exercise

    • Engage your toddler in exercise through imagination, suggests Education.com. Tip-toe walking helps develop muscles and balance, and is something that toddlers often do on their own as they are learning to walk and experimenting with movement. Pretend that the two of you are cats stalking mice toys on the carpet or frogs leaping across a lily pond, combining slow controlled movements and toddler-speed sprinting. Vary your path, including turns and zig-zags. Pretend to be fledgling birds learning to fly, working on range of motion in the arms while running on tip-toes.

    Follow Me

    • Games like Follow the Leader and Simon Says make it easy for a parent to encourage activity, says Kid's Health. Take turns being the leader. When you lead, encourage stretching and bending, and more physical activity such as walking backwards, jumping or running. Then its his turn. He'll have fun leading you through a series of activities. He will probably make some use of the exercise moves you taught him, but while he is lead, expect silliness and go with it. Because making exercise playful makes it pleasurable, it increases the odds that your toddler will enjoy a lifetime of recreational physical activity.

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