Keep Kids Active During TV Time

Just because you want your kids to be more active in order to improve their physical 
health, doesn’t mean they can’t ever have screen time. However, it is what you do with 
that screen time that makes a difference. Here are some ways you can keep your kids 
active even while watching television.

Do Workouts From the Couch

When the family is sitting together on the couch, it is the perfect time to get in some 
good workouts! You can teach your kids all sorts of activities they are able to do while 
sitting on the couch and still watching their favorite show or movie. This can be anything 
as simple as knee or leg lifts while sitting on the couch, to giving them one of their 
heavier toys to throw up in the air and try to catch. You can also do fun family 
challenges where each member of the family tries to see how many of a certain 
exercise they can do, each person going one at a time, then the winner chooses the 
next movie or what you will eat for dessert.

Get Up and Move During Commercials

Commercials are the perfect time to do some exercising, but your kids won’t miss any of 
their cartoon or favorite TV show. Tell them to get up and move around whenever a 
commercial is on. This can be anything from doing sit-ups on the ground to jumping 
jacks. You can even put a small indoor trampoline in the living room and have your child 
jump on it during every commercial break. This is also a good time to walk or run in 
place, or use a fun accessory like a hula hoop. Once the commercial is over, they sit 
back down for some rest.

Set Challenges For Character or Plot Points

This is another fun way to enjoy TV time, while also being physically active. Depending 
on what you are watching, set a certain activity for certain things you might see. If there 
is a character that shows up just once or twice during a show’s episode, have the kids 
do 10 leg lifts when the character shows up. You can do this for any plot point, from 
seeing a mountainside to someone wearing the color yellow. It is fun to come up with 
things and to set little challenges that everyone has to follow during TV or movie time.


