18 Get-Off-the-Couch Games

Games for One

Snack grab

Lay down a straight or zigzagging line of tape from the kitchen snack cupboard to the dining table. Place a big bowl on the table, and tell your child she can use it to mix up her own custom trail mix. The fitness hitch: She has to choose one snack at a time (like dry
cereal, nuts, and chocolate chips) and then walk -- or hop -- along the tape without stepping off to deliver it. If she veers from the line with an item, she can't use it in the snack mix. You can bet she'll be extra careful when she's carrying the chocolate!

Crab carry

Show your child how to walk like a crab: hands and feet on the floor, stomach facing up. Once he can do it, give him a goal. He can balance some beanbags on his belly and move across a marked finish line, or gather some wayward toys and move them to his room. (Don't mention that he's helping you clean up!) Which is faster: carrying one toy across the room at a time, or a whole pile at once -- without spilling?