Activity Levels

Characteristics of children who are “Sitters,” or less active: 

• Are not typically action-oriented
• Are happy to sit and play quietly
• Prefer to take in the world around them by observing it
• Prefer to explore with their hands (fine motor skills), rather than with their arms and legs (gross motor skills)
• Often focus their attention for more extended periods of time--may enjoy working on puzzles or other problem-solving scenarios

Practical Strategies to support less active children:

• Respect their pace and style.  Offer them many opportunities to play with the things that they enjoy, such as books, dress-up clothes, puzzles, building blocks, toy figures, etc.
• Add movement to things they already enjoy.  Entice them to move by holding a favorite toy a little beyond their easy reach or by starting to play with an interesting toy a little beyond where they can easily move.
• Let children look before they leap; if they prefer to watch kids on the climbing gym, let them watch.  Then suggest trying something together—like going down the slide on your lap.  Always remember to follow the child’s lead, and take it slowly.
• Play hide-and-seek.  When one of you is “found,” entice your child into a chasing game.
• Listen to music together. It’s easy to shift from listening to dancing if the music moves you!

Characteristics of “Movers & Shakers,” or more active children:

• Quick to roll over, squirm, and crawl as babies
• Like to reach out, grab, and bat at dangling toys
• Often develop into toddlers who are always on the go, exploring the world around them by crawling, running, and climbing
• Enjoy spaces that offer many opportunities for movement
• Often need a lot of supervision
• Are likely to keep moving until they drop
• Tend to reach out for and touch anything they can get their hands on

Practical Strategies to support more-active children:

• Offer many opportunities for safe, active exploration.  For example, you may want to create obstacle courses with pillows on the floor, or play hide-and-seek, freeze tag, and other active games.
• Don’t expect them to sit still for long periods.  You may want to consider things like letting them leave the high chair as soon as they are done eating, allowing them to turn the pages or act out the story when you read a book, and/or singing songs with hand motions when confined to a car seat in the car.
• Engage children in helping with everyday activities. Ask them to carry spoons to the table, help pick up leaves, and put all of the clean socks in a pile.
• Recognize that some children will need extra time to wind down. Start limiting active play at least an hour before bedtime and perhaps 30 minutes before naptime to help them slow down.
• Remember that being a more active child doesn’t necessarily mean they are wild or out of control--they just need to be able to move more often.

Most children fall somewhere in between these two categories.  They enjoy running, climbing, and jumping, but they are also happy sitting with a puzzle or a book.  Typically, children can move easily from a quiet activity to a more active one.