Experts say toddlers need an hour of structured physical activities and an hour of unstructured activities each day.
Try doing each of these suggestions for up to 10 minutes, depending on your child's interest level and attention span:
1. Get up and dance. Turn on the radio or your CD player and show your toddler how to move! They naturally love to dance and will mimic much of what you do. If you want to shake something noisy while you dance, you can add scarves or small musical instruments like cymbals, whistles, shakers or bells. If you prefer marching to dancing, you can turn the dance into an impromptu parade.
2. Play hide and seek. Children get so excited while looking for you that they will often run from place to place. Each time they find you, give them a bear hug or pick them up and hold them over your head for an "air kiss."
3. Set up an obstacle course. You kids can climb over big pillows, in and out of cardboard boxes, go around foot stools or break through a crepe paper ribbon at the "Finish Line."
4. Have a scavenger hunt. Make a list of toys or other objects and hide them around your home. Try not to use comfort objects like blankets or pacifiers – items they could "miss" too much when they're hidden. Use drawings or pictures of the objects for the toddler's list so he or she can cross off the pictures when they find them.
5. Play "Find the Timer." Hide a ticking kitchen timer somewhere nearby and tell them they're getting "hotter" or "colder" as they go in search of it.
6. Play the "Up and Down" game. Let your child hold something like a small flag and tell him or her to raise it up, down, sideways or circle it around. Get faster or slower with your directions and show them how to do it by leading the way yourself. You'll both be giggling in no time and it'll get your heart rate up!
7. Practice balancing silly items like stuffed animals or bean bags. When they've mastered that have them walk while balancing them.
8. Roll a ball back and forth to each other while sitting or standing.
9. Pretend you're a fitness instructor and get them to do easy exercises like stretches, sit ups, jumping in place, rolling over or rolling side-to-side.
10. Take a gallon plastic milk jug, clean it out and buy the old fashioned wooden clothespins. Let your toddler practice putting them in then shaking them out. It's great for children ages 3-5.
11. Walk up and down the stairs several times while singing silly songs like "If you're happy and you know it, walk upstairs!"
Don't let the winter doldrums take the sparkle out of your child's eyes. And if it's not icy outside, bundle up and take them on a fast stroll, a walk or play a game of chase just to get some fresh air!
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