Here in Denver, Colorado, it snows more often than not during the winter months. When that happens, we all tend to get a little bit of cabin fever. But it can be tough, especially for your kids, to be cooped up inside all day. Many parents ask me, how do you promote fun activities in your home when it is cold outside?
I am Lisa Tarr, I’m a Pediatric Physical Therapist as well as the CEO and Founder of First Steps Pediatric Therapy. We provide physical, occupational, and speech therapy services in the clinic and at home. And the topic that we’re talking about today is fun indoor activities you guys can do at home with your kids when it’s cold outside.
5 Fun Indoor Play Activities for When It’s Cold Outside
Indoor playtime matters because we get restless, and kids are naturally meant to be more active than us adults. When it is cold outside and we don’t want to go outside, what we need to do is stimulate some of that activity at home. Here are a few fun activities you can try:
1. Create a Fort
One of the activities that I love our families to do is, if your cushions come off your couch, you definitely can create a fort. If you guys don’t have cushions that come off, you can use sheets and blankets and build a fort with your kitchen table or off the back of the couch.
2. Try Simple Exercises
If you have stairs in your home, your kids can walk or crawl up and down the stairs. You can also have fun kicking a smaller ball back and forth in a safe area, or pulling up YouTube videos with your kid’s favorite songs and dancing together.
3. Make an Obstacle Course
You can make an obstacle course with simple things like pool noodles that you have in your garage in the winter. You can lay them down and make your kids jump over them, walk over them, or go crawl under things.
4. Pull on Sheets
You could have your child sit on a sheet that you don’t care about, facing away from you, and then slowly drag them toward you by the sheet. This helps promote some movement for both of you. And if they lose their balance and fall backwards, you can lift the sheet up to catch them, which is why I recommend they sit facing away from you.
5. Do Sensory Play
Sensory play is amazing and can be done indoors easily. You can definitely work on popping bubbles in a safe area where you would feel comfortable having some bubble activity. You can make slime or play with Plah-Doh or shaving cream in a plastic tub. You could hide small toys in a bin of rice. You could play with beads in water, or with kinetic sand. There are a lot of different sensory toys and activities you can do with your kid.
Reach Out to First Steps for Expert Support
These are just a few simple ways that we can promote activity for kids when it’s too cold to play outside. If you have any questions, or if you’re concerned about your child’s development, we’re here to help.
Call us today at (700) 900-7432, and we can provide a free consult if you think that your child could benefit from pediatric therapy.
