Moving in summer is essential! After months that are sometimes a little less active, we give ourselves a single mission: to play sports with the little ones. Here are some easy family sports!
Swimming
Perfect for… cooling off first and foremost! In the middle of a heat wave, a small paddling pool, in-ground or above-ground pool are the favourites! Knowing how to swim is essential for the little ones. Your municipal pool must offer courses certified by the Red Cross; This is a great way to introduce them to swimming. Without wanting to make them lifeguards, you will have peace of mind if your children know how to swim.
Recommendation: Learning to swim is not enough to avoid accidents. Make sure everything is in order to prevent your little swimmers from venturing there without your supervision. For safe swimming, you need to know the main safety tips related to residential pools and have all the necessary equipment on hand.
Option: Even if you don't have a swimming pool at home, you can visit parks with water games or enjoy public swimming pools. Not a fan of swimming, but your children love it? Optfor public paddling pools (often less than two feet of water) or buy a small inflatable or plastic pool for your children to cool off in.
To read: Prevent drowning in toddlers and Water games to enjoy the summer
Soccer
Perfect for… active kids! Soccer is now THE summer sport par excellence for children in Quebec. He outclassed baseball. Just take a walk in the streets between 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. and you will come across children everywhere with shin guards and colorful jerseys chasing a black and white ball. Soccer allows children - both girls and boys - to develop their team spirit, develop small strategies, develop their endurance and coordination in addition to moving a lot. Running in this way allows them to channel their energy in a positive way and to spend their overflow! Soccer at a young age is an excellent way of socializing for the little ones who will discover friends from the neighborhood and also for the parents who settle all around the field to encourage their children. Registering your child for soccer in your city for the whole summer costs less than $100 (socks, jersey and ball included) for a season of about 8 weeks. The games last about 1 hour and are held twice a week. A great investment!
Recommendation: From the age of 4, children can play soccer. In some cities, we offereven “pre-soccer” with 3-year-olds. The teams are sometimes mixed, sometimes according to gender. But be aware that it is possible to make certain exceptions.
Bike
Perfect for… family outings. Baby's first summer? No question of staying locked up and not getting active. Why not pick up a suitable trailer or bike seat and set off on some invigorating rides? The turn of tricycles and bicycles with small wheels will soon come. It is always important to refresh children's memories of bicycle safety rules at the start of the summer season. Also, to teach your child to ride a 2-wheeled bike alone, a lot of patience is needed. It is an exercise that requires him to find his center of balance and to have good coordination; It's not nothing! Adjust the bike to your child's height. The saddle should not be too high and he should be able to touch the ground with his toes. Also, prefer the brakes to the pedals for the beginning and no need to have gears. Go practice with your child (that is to say very often run behind him while encouraging him!) in a park or a schoolyard where there is plenty of free space and where your child will not be too distracted.
Recommendation: Helmets are for everyone! For the little ones of course and for the adults at all times too! Even if we haven't been used to wearing one, we set an example and put one on! It's a question of safety! Neitherneither experience nor age matters when an accident occurs!
Option: in-line skating for older kids looking for more raw fun. Thus, we combine the interests of each to still have a great family hike.
To read: The most beautiful bike paths to pedal with the family
Walking
Perfect for… moving anywhere, anytime! Walking is a sport suitable for everyone and can be practiced in all seasons. And you don't have to go far from home. A park nearby? We go there every evening. We take a detour through the park, bring a good book and that's it. The whole family is happy and we all moved! Did you know that living near a green space is a good incentive to walk? And if this summer, you try to do some shopping on foot. Why not? A good habit is formed quickly!
Recommendation: Eating well before hiking is important. Also, to avoid hurting yourself and not having back pain, remember to wear good shoes. Sandals are cooler, but not very practical! Invest in comfortable running shoes that will make all the difference!
Option: hiking. Many regional parks and outdoor centers offer you well-organized trails to satisfy your desires! Change locations or routes often to maintain your interest. Do you make family itineraries anddecide together whether you want to hike up a mountain or around a body of water. You can combine it with other activities such as bird watching or wildlife watching and have a nice picnic. Kids love it!
Tree to tree and Arbraska
Perfect for… budding “climbers”! Your children love playpens to climb and hang on everywhere! They are adventurous, brave and seek strong emotions? Bring them to an Arbraska or Arbre-en-arbre center for a memorable adventure. A new outdoor activity, the arbraska transports you to the tops of the trees through playful games. Rope bridges, zip lines, suspension bridges and several other attractions and workshops in the trees form challenging courses in the trees. Here are circuits of strong emotions where everyone will demonstrate their strengths, their know-how, their agility and their balance!
Recommendation: We rely on the ages delimited for each circuit. We will not let you pass with undersized children, because the adventure could be dangerous. It is better to find out before you leave to find out if the whole family will be able to enjoy it. If you have toddlers, some centers have parks or other attractions just for them while the older ones turn into climbing monkeys for an afternoon. Also, we lend you the equipment on site (harness, carabiner, helmet, etc.).
You can also opt for… GPS rallies, viaferrata, geocaching, rafting, climbing, etc. There is no shortage of thrilling outdoor activities in Quebec!
Information: Arbraska Adventure Forest and Tree to Tree Adventure Parks
Balls and Balloons
Nothing better than getting the balls out to entertain the little ones come summer. Easy too! With a little imagination, you can invent dozens of games just with this simple toy! Stock up on a variety of balls for different sports (basketball, football, soccer, and bouncy rubber ball) and you're set for days of fun.
- Dodgeball
- Basketball
- Football
- Soccer
- Volleyball
- Tennis
- “Safe”: You throw a tennis ball at a big wall (of a school for example) and you have to catch it without dropping it. Otherwise, you have to go touch the wall and shout "Safe" to avoid being eliminated.
Discover dozens of games easy to make with balloons
Did you know that throwing and catching a ball is a great motor skills exercise for children? At every age, games with the ball help children develop not only their motor skills, but also their balance and dexterity. See how your children's skills evolve over the seasons…
Timeless
Baseball or softball:bring neighbors and friends together and organize a friendly game in a safe park in the evening. Young and old can play the game and everyone finds it fun. If you have enough players, you can mix parent and child as one player. A sleeve, it is the adults who hit, but the little ones who run. The other is the opposite.
The skipping rope: $1 well invested at Dollarama for hours of fun. Instinctively, around 7 years old, little girls love to hop relentlessly! They multiply the prowess by turning the rope in the opposite direction or by doing a few crosses. Rest assured that you will also need to bring a long rope and become a rope “turner” for your child to practice this way too.
The tag: Oh no! This game never goes out of style! And the variations are just as numerous. Ice tag (we remain motionless until another player comes to deliver us by touching us), BBQ tag (we kiss the one we catch), the bridge tag (to deliver the other we must pass between his legs who make a bridge), the sick tag (once hit, you become the tag, but you have to run while holding the part of the body that has been hit), etc.
Marbles: Get a few pockets at Dollarama for hours of fun… and discussion.
