If you think health and fitness is an adult-only concern, you’re wrong. If you think the best (and the only) way for kids to exercise is outdoors, at school or with friends - you’re wrong. If you think only adults can engage in exercising apps, you’re - well- you get the drill!
Kids are becoming more and more tech savvy by the day. Thanks (or not) to Covid, they’ve now adapted to doing everything online - studying, appearing for exams, learning to play instruments, watching their favourite shows - you name it! With another deadly wave of Covid dangling around our necks like a sword, children are once again set to be the worst sufferers. At a time like this, why must they not exercise using online apps and tools to make up for the grave loss of physical activity?
We’ve curated a list of the best health and fitness apps that children can use to exercise at home. These will keep kids entertained whilst ensuring they get their daily dose of physical activity:
1) Sworkit: Sworkit features a massive library of kids' workouts. It’s perfect for getting kids moving while at home missing out on their usual exercise.
2) Toca Dance: Toca is a fun dance app where your kids are the choreographer and the dancers in the app mirror their every move. The animations are engaging and funny, and the game keeps kids busy for ages. With Toca Dance, once you’re ready and you’ve got the moves down pat, you can send your team to the stage.
3) Book-worm workout: This one makes story time fun! Story time doesn’t always have to be just a bedtime ritual. In Book-work workout, you can pick a book that has a word that’s often repeated and then exercise every time the word comes up. For example, choose the word “hat” if you’re reading The Cat in the Hat. Every time the word comes up in the story, your kid does a jumping jack.
4) NFL Play 60: If your kids love sports, especially football, but it’s hard to get them to do any actual exercise, NFL Play 60 is the ideal app for them. Created by the NFL, in collaboration with the American Heart Association, the app allows kids to pretend that they’re professional football players but instead of simply making their on-screen avatars run and jump, they have to get off the couch and actually run, jump, catch and turn to make their avatars move. The app also counts the steps they’ve taken while playing the game.
5) Trainer: Kids just love to take care of pets and this app lets them do it while being active. Your child is responsible for a digital pet's diet and exercise; but they have to do more than click buttons. They have to exercise along with the pet to keep them healthy! What a fun way to learn empathy and get some exercise simultaneously!
6) Motion Maze: This is an interactive treasure hunt where kids must walk, jog or run in place to get the character through the maze as quickly as possible.
7) Super Stretch Yoga: Besides exercising, a great way for kids to relax their minds and bodies for optimal health is to practice yoga. Super Stretch Yoga, created by well-known yoga instructor Jessica Rosenberg, teaches kids yoga through video demonstrations by other kids, with a focus on breathing and movement. It’s narrated by a character named Super Stretch. Kids can use the built-in camera to take pictures of themselves doing the various poses.
Let us know in the comments how your kids took to these apps. Till then, stay safe and stay indoors. We'll be back with another super informative blog soon!