Toddler Exercise Ideas

I'm not a doctor but I am a dietitian. It sounds to me like you're already doing things "right"! I hate it when doctors put unnecessary stress on families to "exercise." Your daughter is only 3 and like another poster said, she will have a growth spurt. I went from being your daughter's size to being underweight by sixth grade - don't sweat it at this point. As long as she's eating well (many of us have the opposite problem) and is active, let her be a kid. Have fun at the park, dance around the room, play hide-n-seek, go for walks through the neighborhood... my two year old son and I do these things just so that he can get that energy out!

I highly recommend you read Ellyn Satter's book "Your Child's Weight: Helping without Harming". http://www.ellynsatter.com/

2 moms found this helpful

make sure she is getting plenty of sleep and water. cut out juices or limit to rare occassions. sounds like you are on top of the activity side of it. i noticed that my daughter was like silly putty. she would get wider and wider and then get TALL and as she stretched up she became leaner. then the cycle started again. sounds like you are doing a great job. don't forget sleep. very important.

Hi! We dance to the radio, go to the park, kick the soccer ball in the backyard, and go on walks. I'd just be sure that your daily outings don't involve her going from a car seat to a shopping cart or other sedentary activity - try to keep her walking rather than riding or being carried. But honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Kids have growth spurts and change a lot from year to year - next year she could be 50th for weight and 90th for height. It's just a number, and not one that matters much at that age.

My 3 yo and I love to do workouts to Mary Poppins!! Just pop in the DVD and dance to the energetic songs: Spoonfull of Sugar, the entire chalkboard scene, Step in Time...gets our hearts pumping!

We also go on walks every day...usually about 1 mile. We make them nature walks in the fall, since it is inevitable that they'll notice all the acorns, leaves, etc.

Bring a soccer ball to the backyard & kick it around...have her chase you, and you chase her. Race her. Tricycle ride to a park, or at a park with long walking paths.

Depending on where you live, look into classes at your local community center. "Fairfax Fit Moms" teaches classes (one called "Fit Moms" where moms exercise with their kids ages baby-5, and one called "Fit Kids" where kids exercise alone--for ages 3 and up). The instructor/owner is fantastic and she makes the kids SWEAT! I know she offers classes in both Reston and Herndon, but maybe there is something similar where you live.

I would put her in an activity since she's three -- swimming is excellent, gymnastics, dance or martial arts. Or put her in a few -- that way she will get really targeted exercise for at least 30 mins. a day -- maybe an hour.

When I lived in MD, I joined the YMCA. I would take my kids to swimming class and stay to play with them in the water (during which time they would be swimming with a floaty) -- we often stayed 2 hours after class. I also put them in some excellent gymnastics classes at the Y. It was very affordable and the kids loved it. You just have to find something -- or a few things -- she enjoys.

If there is an indoor pool in your area try swimming. It burns tons of calories and really tires them out so they sleep well. Try having her jump in the pool to you. After jumping in, getting out, jumping in, getting out a zillion times lots of calories are burned.

At this age exercise does not necessarily mean anything like structured or planned exercise. They get it by running, playing, jumping...just being an active kid.

As Stacie H. said, it sounds like you're doing all the right things. One thing I want to ask: Is she muscular, or is it fat? If she's solid, I wouldn't worry about it. There is such a thing as baby fat, and as Stacie H. said, she'll have that growth spurt, and you'll wonder what the heck you were so worried about.

Hi J.! Sounds like you're already doing all the right stuff! I have two girls - a 9 year old who is in the 10th percentile for everything, and a 7 year old who is in the 95th percentile. My 7 year old already outweighs my 9 year old, and will be taller than her any moment now. I know I should not compare them, but having the two of them in front of me all the time makes it hard not to. So, when I look at my 7 year old's little pot belly I just remind myself that she (like your daughter) eats healthy and runs around outside all the time! We jump on the trampoline until we collapse! I also look at her and notice that she is built just like me at that age. And I think I turned out ok - 5'8", 140 pounds. We all want the best for our kids, and it looks like yours will turn out just fine :)

My kids "exercise" with me along with workout DVDs, but we also just run around the house, make obstacle courses, and play outside. Generally by 3 children are "evening out," but if she is otherwise healthy, try to add a bit more activity but you probably don't need to worry about he weight. My 3 1/2 year old "porks out" a bit before he has a growth spurt and grows into the weight, but he is always in the 90s for height and weight. There are also small amounts that make a difference between percentiles. How has her growth curve in general been?

There are not a lot of good kids exercise videos, and videos can just add to screen time anyway. One fun activity is to cut out pictures of activities and printed out numbers and use two empty square tissue boxes. Make an "activity die" and a number one (activities could include jumping rope, jumping like a frog, running, jumping jacks, touching your toes, etc.), and cover the whole thing in clear tape. Play fun music, let your daughter roll them, and do each action the number of times indicated. We also like setting up actual obstacle courses with car tracks so we are running and jumping and going around corners. My boys also have small dumbbells (my 3 1/2 year old has 2 lb dumbbells and my 2 year old has "play" dumbbells from Target that look real but probably only weight a pound or so) and we do arm exercises together, squats, etc. They love following Pilates moves and anything with a name for it. :)

My kids never stop moving so they exercise all day! I do take them to the park almost everyday. If we don't go to the park then we go for a long bike ride around the neighborhood. Or, we just go out in the backyard and the kids dig in the dirt, sandbox or grass. We do have a trampoline and they use that a lot. Both kids also go to school everyday and they play on the playground there or ride bikes in the gym if it rains.

I think your daughter should be okay since she is eating healthy foods and does't watch a lot of TV. My kids love to eat as well and sometimes I wonder where all the food is going!

Good luck!

Any activity is good. You could put on music and dance. My 2 yr old was havning a grand old time last night--and there was no music. She was doing some kind of freeze dance thing. Hilarious--and adorable of course. You will be surprised when she hits that big growth spurt and suddenly is thinned out. Mine all did that, though they were usually in the 85 -90% for height.

It sounds like you probably already go for walks, a pool, a playground, etc. There are places like Gymboree and The Little Gym that have organized classes. Dance around the house with her. There are also yoga videos geared towards little ones. Elmocise was always popular with my kids too. Even though she eats healthy a calorie is a calorie. Check the FDA website for calorie recommendations. She could still be eating well over what she need calorie wise. Good luck.

this is what i hate about charts and percentages. they refer to huge groups in order to get an average and do not take individuals into consideration. if your daughter eats well and is a busy bee, and it sounds as if she is to a much greater degree than most in both departments, she doesn't need any sort of formal *exercise*. littles are like playdough anyway, they compact and stretch out as they grow. in a year or two she may stretch up like alice after she ate the teacake.
i think you're doing everything right.
khairete
S.

My son has always had a big appetite and at his 2 yr and 3 yr visit he was about the same as your girl, 90% weight and 25-50% height. Even though plenty of people commented that he had "baby fat" our doc said not to worry about it. Our son is very active. By the 4 yr visit he is now in the 90% for height and 75% for weight and has really thinned out as he shot up in height. I wouldn't worry about the weight at this point too much. For activity, he loves nintendo wii, takes a gymnastics class once a week, plays soccer and ball in the yard with my husband, dances and plays on the playground. I wouldn't worry too much about "fitness" activities, just make sure that she is moving during the day. If she is in preschool, she probably moves a lot already.