Simple and super fun! Best workouts for kids at home

• Benefits
• Best Exercises for Kids at Home
• FAQs

Regular exercise is essential for kids to stay active and healthy. While many gyms in the emirate offer excellent training sessions for the little ones, parents can also keep their children physically fit with some easy at-home workouts. Let’s look at the best exercises for kids at home in Dubai that are both easy and fun.

BENEFITS OF EXERCISE FOR KIDS

In today’s digital age, children spend a significant amount of time indoors, often engaged with screens. Balancing this with regular physical activity is crucial for their overall health and development. Before diving into specific workouts, it’s important to understand why exercise is essential and how it can help them.

• Physical Health: Regular physical activity helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints. It also reduces the risk of obesity.
• Mental Health: Exercise is known to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, improve mood and boost self-esteem.
• Development: Physical activity supports motor skills development, coordination and balance.
• Helps in Sleep: Active kids tend to fall asleep faster and enjoy better sleep quality.

EXERCISES FOR KIDS AT HOME

Whether you live in an apartment in Dubai or a sprawling villa, these exercises are a great way to stay fit as a family!

STRETCHING AND YOGA

Let’s start with yoga and stretching exercises for kids. Yoga is credited with developing an increased range of motion, flexible muscles and strengthening the core. You can also try online yoga classes in Dubai to learn more advanced yoga poses. The perfect yoga position for little ones is the butterfly pose:

• All you need to do is get the yoga mat out, sit on the floor, bring the soles of your feet together in front of you and shape your legs into butterfly wings.
• Teach the kids to breathe in while lifting their arms over their heads.
• Then, bring the hands back down and instruct the kids to breathe out.

SQUATS

Another kids’ exercise to try at home is squats—this simple and easy-to-do workout helps kids build strength, confidence and endurance. To make the workout more fun, turn it into a squat relay exercise for children:

• Line them up on opposite sides of the room facing each other.
• On cue, your kids can aim to reach the centre of the room and do three to four squats while giving a high-five to each other with both hands between reps.

SIT-UPS AND PUSH-UPS

Sit-ups and push-ups for kids are another great way to build core strength while encouraging them to stay healthy and active. You can also try various workouts with kids, such as simple crunches and bicycle crunches.

FLYING SUPERMAN

The flying Superman exercise is another easy-to-follow kids’ exercise:

• Get a yoga mat, or use the floor for this exercise.
• Help your child lay on their back and ask them to gently lift their hands and legs in the air while lying flat on their tummy.
• This exercise helps kids strengthen and tone their muscles.

JUMPING JACKS

Jumping jacks is one of the most common healthy exercises for kids to do at home:

• Instruct the children to stand upright with their legs together and arms at their sides.
• Kids can jump into the air while bending their knees slightly.
• While jumping, ask the kids to stretch their arms out over their heads and spread their legs as they jump back to the starting position.

Two to three reps for this workout is enough to keep the little ones fit and strong at home. You can also try hurdle hops. Make small hurdles and ask the kids to jump across them. Make sure to supervise the kids during these home exercises to prevent injuries.

LUNGES

Lunges are the perfect workout for kids and parents alike. They can be easily done at home by following online tutorials. The main benefit of lunges for kids is that it helps build strong leg muscles.

THE BEAR WALK

An ultimate favourite among the kids is the bear walk. This kids’ exercise at home in Dubai is a fun way to strengthen the shoulder and posterior muscles. The bear walk is good exercise for kids to lose weight at home. If your kids don’t already know the bear walk, it’s easy to teach them:

• Tell your kids to lean over and put their hands on the ground so that all their body weight is on their hands and feet.
• Then, ask the kids to bend their knees and crawl like a bear.

SKIPPING

An easy and fun home-based exercise for kids, skipping, might not look like much. But it helps develop the kids’ core strength. Skipping also engages both the left and the right sides of the brain, which helps kids learn balance and coordination.

DANCE PARTY

Turn on their favourite tunes and let them dance freely. You can also follow along with kids’ dance workout videos available online. Dance games like Freeze Dance, where they freeze when the music stops, add an extra layer of fun.

OBSTACLE COURSE AT HOME

Create a simple obstacle course using household items. Kids can crawl under tables, jump over pillows and weave between chairs. Set a timer and challenge them to complete the course as quickly as possible.

FAQS

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BEST GYMS IN DUBAI FOR KIDS?

Physical activity and well-being are essential for kids, especially when kids spend so much time staring at screens for hours! For guidance or professional help, take your kids to the best kids’ gyms in Dubai, where they can learn to stay in shape with expert assistance from professionals.

HOW DO I KEEP MY KIDS MOTIVATED DURING A WORKOUT?

Keep workouts varied to prevent boredom. Mix activities and introduce new exercises regularly. Set achievable goals and celebrate milestones. This could be as simple as completing a certain number of jumps or holding a plank longer. Don’t forget to praise and encourage your child during and after workouts. Positive reinforcement boosts their confidence and motivation.

HOW TO KEEP KIDS BUSY IN SUMMER?

Summer in the UAE is long and it limits outdoor activities for kids. But there are plenty of home activities for kids in Dubai that are perfect for the long summer days.

CAN I BUILD A GYM IN MY DUBAI HOME?

Yes, you most certainly can! Here are some tips on building an in-house gym in Dubai.

That’s all for our top easy exercises for kids to try at home in Dubai during the summers. By having variations, you can make exercise sessions very enjoyable for the kids. Setting up a schedule for different exercises on paper or flashcards will make things more interesting and exciting. These exercises for kids at home can also be a good way to spend more time with them. Enrol them in some of the most popular gymnastics classes for kids in Dubai if they’re interested in the sport.

Similarly, some fun games and toddler activities in Dubai are designed for the little ones to help them explore and develop their abilities.

If you have a budding dancer at home, enrolling them at one of the top dance schools for kids in Dubai is a good option to hone their skills and talent.