Kids love playing sports at school, but what you might not realize is that agility is an important skill for all of those activities they enjoy.
It’s therefore important to start teaching your kid how to be more agile from a very young age.
What, exactly, is agility?
When put simply, agility can be defined as the ability to stop quickly, change your direction, and then speed up again, such as during a sports game. It therefore requires quick movements and coordination.
Your kids are probably already learning how to be more agile during playtime with their friends.
When they run around and chase each other, darting from one point to another and dodging to avoid being caught, these are activities that are developing their agility!
Now, if you want to further boost their agility, you can in various ways.
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Eight Agility Exercises For Kids Under The Age Of Four
As with any exercise, you don’t want to overwhelm your kids.
They might be too young to push their bodies to a certain point. This can risk injuries.
In addition, the whole point of teaching your kids agility exercises is to make them fun so that they don’t even feel like they’re working out.
It’s important to realize that kids under the age of four need to have a variety of movement, so including a bunch of different agility-boosting activities and exercise into their days is recommended. Here are some ideas.
Soccer Drills
By the time kids turn two, they’ll be able to walk and run and even kick a soccer ball. A soccer drill is the perfect way to boost their agility.
Set up some cones on the field in a straight line and let your toddler run through them, trying not to touch them or bump them over.
They can take their time to do this without having to run too fast. If you don’t have cones, you can use boxes.
Trike Rides
Teaching your kid how to ride a tricycle teaches them how to pedal, how to balance, and how to coordinate their upper and lower body.
Let your child sit on their trike and help them to steer it, as this is a quick way to help them learn about how to maintain and improve their balance.
Jumping Exercises
Toddlers are at the phase where they can jump, and around the age of five kids will be able to do jumping jacks, which coordinates their arms and legs during the jump.
For younger kids, have them just jump up as high as they can on the spot without falling down.
Garden Obstacle Course
You can easily let kids have fun while doing exercise by setting up an obstacle course for them in the garden.
Of course it’s not necessary to spend a lot of money, it’s simple to set up a few items, such as chairs or boxes, in different formations and then let kids run around them or climb over them!
Moving Like Animals
This is a fun activity your toddler will love. Show your toddler how to move like different animals, such as by hopping like a bunny, slithering like a snake, or galloping like a horse, and let them copy you.
Sponge Throwing
Throwing balls or other items is another skill your kids can do from when they’re in their toddler years.
It’s a great way to boost their hand-eye coordination and motor skills, which are essential to their agility.
How to do this activity: get sponges and a tub of water and set it outside. Soak the sponges in the water and let your kids throw them at the wall, other surfaces, or even have a sponge fight. Fun!
Dance Competition
Put on some upbeat music and let your kids dance! You can turn it into a competition by saying that the winner is the kid who moves the most. This is good to encourage them to twist, dance, jump, and hop!
Blowing Bubbles
Blowing bubbles is a timeless activity that kids love. You can turn it into the perfect opportunity to let your kids develop their agility by letting them blow bubbles around them and then telling them to chase them so they can pop them.
Soon they’ll be running and dodging to get all the bubbles.
Is Agility Something You’re Either Born With Or Not?
If you’ve ever noticed how some people can be more agile than others, you might’ve wondered if some people are just born with agility.
This is a myth!
By practicing regularly, anyone can improve their level of agility at any age.
Related Questions
How active should your two year old be?
Two year olds should get at least three hours of activity a day, but this should be spread out throughout the day, as the NHS reports.
In addition, there should be at least one hour of moderate-to-intense physical activity in their day.
What are easy ways to improve your child’s hand-eye coordination?
Some of the best activities to develop and improve your child’s hand-eye coordination include letting them throw and catch a ball, as well as playing sports such as tennis or soccer.
Conclusion
Kids love to play and move around, and being active is a great way for them to develop motor skills as well as build their body’s muscles.
You can also let them do certain activities and exercises to boost their agility, as we’ve seen in this article.
Instead of calling the activities exercise, which might sound like hard work, call them fun!
Your kids are sure to love them and won’t even realize they’re gaining valuable skills in the process.
