Tips for Walking with Kids

National Walking Day is April 6, 2022 and taking a walk with your kiddos is an easy way to get the whole family involved and strengthen family connections. Our friends at the YMCA of San Diego County offer the following tips:

1. Keep kids safe while walking out to the park, have kids hold your hand a ring walking rope.
2. Play the “What Am I” Game while you are walking! A player chooses any object and says “What am I?” The other players ask questions to guess the object, but only yes or no responses can be given to the questions. For example: Can you be eaten? Can you be found in a house? Do you use electricity?
3. Exercise and count: Count all the things that you find along your walk. Try to pick a theme such as Trees, Flowers, or Dogs. At the end of your walk, review what you saw and number of things you counted. 
4. Sounds: while walking the kids can practice listening; listen for sounds during your walk try to identify the sounds you hear.
5. Safety Talk: talk about the importance of safety before going on your walk. Teach the kids the importance of staying in line or holding hands with a friend. Set rules for children to follow to keep the, safe.
6. During your walk you can sing a song; this will help kids enjoy their walk and keep them connected to you.
7. Going on a Walk! Kids like to learn and explore something new; take a walk to the Farmers Market, Post Office, Fire Department or Library. Talk to them about what they will be doing before going on your walk, talk about the different thing you saw during your walk and when you arrive. After your visit you can talk to the kids about what you saw and can also create an activity that reflects the place you visited.
8. Pack a bag: be prepared and pack a bag with some safety and useful items. EX: Bring snacks, water, wipes, first aid kit, cell phone and extra diapers for your little ones.
9. Know your places: inspect the place before taking the kids so that you know the best route and what to expect during your walk.
10. Make it fun: to make the walk fun, kids can pick a move that can be imitated by everyone in the family while walking. Ex: one person can say let hop with one foot, bark like a dog, or clap your hands twice.