Kids Exercise Videos to Help Keep Your Family Moving (and Sane)

On day 11 of sheltering in place, my 5-year-old and 22-month-old spent more than an hour chasing two balloons around our apartment. It wasn’t organized. It wasn’t planned. But it focused their boundless energy and got them moving—a trickier goal than ever in light of social distancing, remote learning, and inordinate amounts of time at home.

“For adults and kids alike, that’s going to be one of the biggest challenges: finding movement and staying motivated,” says Steve Ettinger, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and kids fitness expert. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children ages 6 to 17 engage in at least an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise a day; preschoolers 5 and younger should aim for at least three hours of active play over the course of the day. With pent-up energy and emotions running high and with routines in flux, making physical activity a part of your family’s routine can help diffuse tension, lift spirits, and reestablish a sense of normalcy.

How to start? Here are some expert tips and dynamic kids exercise videos to help shift things into high gear.

Pepped-up play for younger kids

Scheduling time for movement can help anchor your child’s day, but be flexible and open to spontaneity. “The more playful and lighthearted the approach from us as adults, the better for young people,” says noted yoga instructor Alissa Kepas, who often works with kids.

Make time for family dance parties or walks. Be open to dropping what you happen to be doing for impromptu games of tag, if possible. Beyond that, these free online videos, generally suitable for pre-K through third-grade kids, also deliver equal doses of movement and fun.

Cosmic Kids Yoga

This popular YouTube channel engages kids with themed adventures and fantastical backdrops. Most are in the 10- to 30-minute range. Cute characters (The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Betsy the Banana) and popular stories (Frozen) are cleverly woven into the yoga instruction.

Fitness Blender

Fitness Blender, which is on our list of 22 free online exercise options for adults, has a 25-minute kids workout that incorporates moves like bear crawls and crab walks, and games like Red Light, Green Light.

Go Noodle: Good Energy

Go Noodle mixes movement with learning. Look for lessons on patterns and handwashing, as well as a workout (just under two minutes) hosted by tennis star Madison Keys. Some videos can get pretty silly, and you may be humming the earworms for months to come.

Movement for Kids with Jaime

This series (part of the audio fitness app Aaptiv’s new collection of family-friendly workouts, posting daily to YouTube) features brightly patterned yoga mats and fun themes. Its seven-minute animal-movement video, in particular, will spark some wild moves, from kangaroo kickboxing to froggy squat-jumping.

Pancake Manor

These sunny YouTube videos will get preschoolers bopping along with puppets to fun songs like “Move Your Legs” and “Shake Break Exercise Song.” Most run for a zippy two to three minutes.

Spiderfitkids PE in your Living Room

Spiderfitkids founder Brett Klika hosts 20-minute Facebook Live PE classes (weekdays at 11 a.m. Pacific) that he then posts on Instagram. We love that the workouts—great for kids 5 and up—also include daily add-on challenges such as helping a family member or eating veggies at dinner.

Fun challenges for older kids

Prying older elementary-schoolers and middle-schoolers away from the TV and video games for exercise can be especially tough, so it helps to get a little creative. “The biggest thing, especially when you’re in a smaller space, is re-imagining what it means to be active and to move,” says Ettinger.

Chores, for example, count—especially if you make them interesting. Challenge kids to beat a timer as they pick up their room at the end of the day. Get them to do jumping jacks when they’re microwaving something for two minutes. “Even if that’s the only thing they do all day,” says Ettinger, “that’s so much better than nothing.”

If you want to turn screen time into active time, these videos (mostly also free) keep things light and lively while working in real exercises and exercise concepts.

Alo Yoga Kids Yoga & Meditation

Alo Gives (the yoga-wear brand’s philanthropic arm) has posted roughly 60 five-minute videos just for kids. We especially love the “Dino Yoga” video (T. rex warrior pose, anyone?) and “Be A Rainstorm” (strategies to stay focused).

Double Time

This eight-session series (from the popular Beachbody franchise) includes playful grab-a-partner sequences and upbeat ball workouts (a kickball or soccer ball will do). One Wirecutter staffer tried the exercises and found them as challenging as her 10-year-old did.

Family Fitness with Wes

Another video from Aaptiv, this 24-minute partner workout is designed for parents and kids to do together, which (almost) makes burpees and squats a little more fun.

Obé Fitness Kids (30-day free trial using the code ATHOME at checkout; $27-per-month regular subscription price)

The exercise app Obé recently added workouts for kids to its offerings. Best for those up to age 10, the sessions feature lots of fun dance moves (some backed by Kidz Bop songs) and exercises like squats and planks.

P.E. with Joe

Joe Wicks, popular host of YouTube’s The Body Coach TV, is currently streaming a new 30-minute workout for millions of kids and parents every weekday. There’s no fancy studio—just Wicks’s unbridled enthusiasm, some high-energy tunes (he recently added music), and basic moves that gym teachers everywhere can vouch for.

Shaun T’s Fit Kids Club “Cool Moves”

Another offering from the Beachbody brand, the high-energy 25-minute “Cool Moves” video is part workout, part dance party. Kids join Shaun T and other gym buddies in learning too-cool-for-school steps like the Dust & Wave and the Snake It.

Conditioning strategies for kids who play sports

With sports seasons delayed or cancelled, children who play sports probably miss their teammates as much as they miss the physical activity. “We have to acknowledge to our children and our teenagers that this is not fun,” says Duke University Medical Center psychologist Robin Gurwitch, PhD.

“Encourage them to get outside and do activities they enjoy or aren’t usually able to do,” says Jim Kielbaso, president of the International Youth Conditioning Association. Participate if you can, whether it’s playing catch or doing yoga—just remember to stay positive. Ask coaches for advice on how to move forward and find new challenges, too.

To make training more fun and social, Gurwitch suggests sharing accomplishments with teammates via videoconference. Videos such as the following can help stoke motivation, too.

ActiveKids.com

This site offers cardio- and strength-building exercises that are relevant for all sorts of sports and activities. Mix and match these nine full-body exercises for kids to create a challenging DIY workout.

International Youth Conditioning Association

The IYCA YouTube channel is chock-full of exercise demonstrations. Many are set in a gym, though there are options that require minimal equipment, like this series of plank-based videos. Watch “Beyond Boring Workouts” for some creative exercise inspiration.

StandUp Kids

StandUp Kids is a nonprofit founded by noted mobility expert Kelly Starrett of The Ready State. These short videos introduce kids to technique-forward instruction on, say, how to do a squat (there’s more to it than you might think), plus quick-hit exercise combinations.

Tabata Workout from HASfit

If your kid wants to work out with you, let them. Ettinger points out that teens can participate in most, if not all, adult workouts—for instance, this 30-minute Tabata workout by HASfit, or a yoga class. “The general message is, if kids are interested in something, let them explore it,” he says, “whether it’s a balloon or a class geared toward adults.”