Fun Indoor Winter Kid Activities

In today's society, being active is one of the best ways to stay fit. The problem is that this year, it has gotten cold early. So how does a parent convince their child to play outside, and burn some of that energy, during the cold winter months? If your child is like mine, or is like me, they abhor even the notion of cold weather. I don't live in Florida just for the beach. I don't do the cold well, and try to stay out of it as much as possible. Because of this, my level of activity over the winter is nowhere near as much as it is in the spring, summer, and fall, when you can just about bet that I will be outside enjoying the warm weather with my family. So how do you get your kids to be active, and exercise, during the cold months?

This is one of the easiest ways to help stay fit, and to help build up your fitness. Although most people will consider the X-Box, and video games, to be the main cause of obesity in children in America, they are making headway in games that get you off the couch, and get you active. One of these games is X-Box's Fitness 2012. This game puts you into the actual game, where your body is the controller. You actually do not have to own an X-Box controller, nor will you need to pick one up (unless you need to adjust the Kinect sensor). But don't think that this is just another game. This game actually see's you, and monitors your movements, and gives you points based on that. The better your form is, the higher you will score. But this game goes beyond, by incorporating workout routines, and making them so fun, you don't even realize your working out. Busting a sweat on this video game is actually possible (and actually fun), and happens quite frequently. There are multiple levels of hardness, to help those with no physical fitness, all the way to athletes. Playstation has something similar, with the Playstation Move. Wii, on the other hand, is lacking in this type of technology, and still requires you to use the controls, versus X-Box and Playstation, what actually track your body, and use that as the controller. If you actually give it your all, you will see results, and see them quickly.

Gymnastics's is a fun sport that any child can participate in, that will give the child a good work out. Gymnastics is fun for kids, and perfect for them. Children are naturally limber, and have very little if any, fear. This makes the tumbling, flipping, swinging, and flying through the air fun, and rewarding. Most large towns have at least one gymnastics facility, and prices for training are actually quite reasonable. Another bonus is that you can get your child started in gymnastics super early in life, with some facilities accepting toddlers and even infants. As for the cold weather, gymnastics is trained and even preformed indoors, meaning that it could be -70 degrees outside, but you will be nice and warm inside. Both males and females can participate, and gymnastics promotes healthy living, flexibility, and strengthening. It will help improve your child's agility, power, discipline, strength, and balance skills, as well as help with the child's hand-eye coordination. The good news about gymnastics is that many places offer multiple locations to participate. The bad news is that gymnastics does have a higher injury rate, due to the nature of the sport. To learn more about gymnastics for kids, check out this cool Hub.

Basketball is one of America's favorite sports. And there is a good reason why. Basketball is one of the few ball sports that can be played both inside and outside, meaning that you have no excuse to play all year long. Basketball is a great sport, that uses plenty of cardio, in addition to nimbleness and a bit of luck, to win. Traditionally, the hoop on a basketball court is set at 10 feet, but can be adjusted to your child, meaning that its easier for the child to play, giving the child more incentive to want to play. Basketball is a fun sport, that is played with friends, and can be the perfect cure to your child's snow day with all his friends. Basketball is enjoyed by both girls and boys, and very little is needed to play (just a ball, and a hoop).

Racquetball isn't as popular as basketball, but is still a great way to break a sweat when the weather outside would freeze the sweat. Racquetball is played on an enclosed court, and the goal is to try to get points, by returning serves in a way that your opponent cannot return. Racquetball can be found at most local YMCA's, and at some of the many Indoor Sports Complexes that are beginning to pop up all over the country. Racquetball requires nimbleness speed, agility, dexterity, and a little bit of strength. It is a low risk sport, also, meaning injuries are minimal (although you do have to wear safety glasses). Most of the injuries associated with racquetball are actually the effect of simply moving around in the court, such as twisted ankles. To play, you only need a racket, a ball, and a set of safety glasses, and most places will rent all you need to play.