Remember the days when you were kids? You grew up playing games like catch, running, or playing in the mud. The reality is entirely different today. Most kids are growing up with a screen these days. All kids with access to a TV, smartphone, and video games are couch potatoes. Getting them away from the screen to play outside is a challenging task. However, it’s not impossible! Parents should get creative if they want their kids to spend more time doing activities that help develop their mental and motor skills. Also, going outside helps them stay fit, be in nature (self-healing), and make social relationships.

Necessary for early years….

All these are essential in their early years. If they become couch potatoes instead of playing or doing activities, it will impact their adult life. Experts say too much time in front of screens can make a child obese and lead to chronic illnesses. All this affects their adult life, and weight gain in childhood becomes challenging to lose later. Thus, encourage your kids to go outside more and indulge in fun activities, which will help develop their motor skills and overall personality development.

Here are a few activities to encourage your kids to leave the couch and develop their motor, mental, physical, and social skills.

Install a trampoline

Trampoline is an exciting outdoor activity that every kid is excited to try. If you get the kid away from the screen, all they want to do is run and jump. With a trampoline, the kid will have a reason to go outside. It is also super-fun and helps develop their motor skills, concentration, hand-eye movement, and more. According to the space in the backyard, buy a trampoline online. Install it on soft ground to reduce the risk of injuries. Also, follow the best practice when the kid goes to enjoy the trampoline.

Play-dough

If you see your kids begging to play with dough or play clay, oblige. It makes a mess, but it also helps kids learn so much. It is a fun activity to help you get them off the couch. Moreover, their motor skills develop when they pinch or squeeze the play-lay or dough. Developing motor skills is necessary for young kids. Otherwise, they will find it challenging to pick up utensils or tie their shoelaces.

Get them interested in play-dough by asking them to make shapes, animals, and other things. Then, give them kid-friendly scissors and let them cut them into pieces to make a craft of their liking. Also, try these exciting play-dough ideas with your kids.

Role-play or pretend play

It is exactly what it sounds like, pretending to be someone you are not or playing a character. Encourage your child to become any character they wish to be. It can be a dragon, a princess, a fairy, or even spiderman. Help them create a costume with things you have at home. It will again engage the child to engage and away from the TV. Encouraging role-playing helps a kid to imagine and get creative. You will be surprised to see how creative a child can become during role play. He will write his script, be a hero, and do much more.

Introduce them to sports

Another way to get children to be active and not be couch potatoes is to introduce them to sports. Try enrolling them in sports they show interest in, like hockey, cricket, swimming, basketball, and more. If they are reluctant, give them some time, and they will soon start enjoying it.

Introduce them to other activities, like music

Maybe your kid likes to play instruments, or dancing fascinates him. If that is the case, make them join a class. It also helps develop their personality and motor skills, and they are not glued to their phones.

Go hiking together

An exciting activity to do together as a family is hiking. Going out in nature and learning to hike will greatly benefit a child. Also, it gives you time to bond as a family.

To conclude, these activities will help them get out of the couch and enjoy activities. However, they also follow their elders. So, if you are too invested in the screen, kids will follow. Thus, be involved with their plays to encourage them better.