Opportunities to move together

Most kids are naturally more active than most adults - me included. Living in Minnesota means lots of below-zero days. (I never thought I would refer to the teens as "mild".) There's a lot of talk in the "ob%#!ity epidemic" lingo about how to "get" kids to be physically active.  Various recommendations include having them "jog in place during the commercials of their favorite shows" (good luck with that one, I know I'd love to jog in place during Grey's Anatomy...) and there are kid-sized treadmills and exercise bikes. Nothing like getting kids to associate drudgery with exercise right from the start.

Providing the opportunity for active play is different than "getting" kids active. Today, after I picked M up from daycare, we were heading inside when she started jumping in some puddles. (It was in the 30's today - balmy!) I had my hands full of bags, and my first instinct was to rush her inside. I stopped myself, recognized this opportunity to provide play and popped in to get my wind-pants and boots on. What resulted was almost 45 minutes of playing in the snow, jumping in puddles, making snow-Mom and snow-Baby (see photo).

Sometimes we just need to slow down, make the extra effort to include play when possible (and I fully recognize my priviledge in having that time after pickup). Is it pulling the couch cushions onto the floor and bouncing or jumping from one to the other? Is it putting your old B-52s CD in and getting down with Rock Lobster? (M loves the part where you have to crouch down and then spring up.) Turning on the TV is easy, and some nights we do a little more of that than others, but looking for unexpected opportunities for your kids to move their bodies is fun and good for them — and leave the kiddie treadmill collecting dust at the store.

What are some of your indoor play activities?