This post about Core Strengthening Exercises for Kids is consistently one of our most viewed articles at The Inspired Treehouse. Why?
Because there are a lot of parents, teachers, and therapists out there who know that core strengthening is essential for the progression of nearly all other developmental skills. The core is the center of control for everything else the body does!
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It’s difficult to balance, perform coordinated movements on both sides of the body, sit up straight in a chair, hold a pencil, control scissors, or jump if you don’t have a strong core. We know that decreased core strength commonly contributes to other issues like W-Sitting and delayed motor skill development.
Why Do So Many Kids Have Weak Core Muscles?
We also find that more and more kids are having difficulty with maintaining functional posture at home and in the classroom and with overall body strength.
This could be due to a number of reasons including:
-An increase in the number of children with developmental delays
-The rising trend of children being less physically active during the school day as academic demands in the classroom become more intense
-Kids becoming more interested in video games and television than a game of tag in the backyard.
Whatever the reason, we’re here to help!
Core Strengthening Exercises for Kids
The core muscles are the muscles in the abdomen, back and pelvis and the key to strengthening these muscles is making it fun — like a game! Issue a challenge, give the activity a playful purpose!
Here are a few core strengthening exercises to help you get started.
*Always make sure that when your child is completing ANY of these exercises that she is breathing! Breath holding allows your child to compensate and not use the crucial core muscles that these exercises target.
1 || Bridging
Have your child lay on his back with his knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Have them push hard through their heels to raise their bottom up off the floor. Be sure that they are keeping their head and shoulders on the ground (see photo above). Can they hold it?
How to Change it Up:
-Try having the child lift and lower with control (up for a count of 3, down for a count of 3).
-Put a stuffed animal between the child’s knees and have them squeeze while completing the bridging.
-For a BIG challenge, have your child place his feet on a pillow or small ball and try to maintain stability while bridging.
-Zoom some cars underneath — How many cars can you get under the bridge before it falls?
-Find a few small, stuffed animals and walk them under the bridge — Don’t squish the bunny!
2 || Superman
Have your little one fly like the superhero and strengthen his back! Have him lay on his stomach on the floor and try to lift his arms up off of the floor so that his upper chest comes up too.
How to Change it Up:
-Can he lift his legs? How about arms and legs at the same time?
-Can he hold a ball between his hands or his feet while lifting up?
-Place a stuffed animal on the child’s back and see if he can complete this exercise with enough control to keep the animal from falling.
-Make it fun by having the child reach up for you to hand him pieces of a puzzle or to place stickers on the wall.
-Make it even more fun by trying it on a swing or a large ball
3 || Knock Me Over
This has always been a favorite of the kids I see for physical therapy. It can be done with smaller children on your lap, or with bigger kiddos on a large therapy ball or even with them kneeling on both knees.
The goal is for them to maintain enough stability through their trunk to stay upright! If you have a small child on your lap, sit on a couch or bed for a soft landing surface. Bounce them up and down a few times (maybe sing “I’m a Little Teapot) and then try to knock them over. The first few times, they will fall for sure…it’s funny!
See if you can gradually increase the pressure that it takes to knock them down. And…getting up is part of the core workout too! See if you can decrease the amount of assistance it takes to get them back to a sitting position.
How to Change it Up:
-Have the child in a tall kneeling position on the floor and play catch with balls of varying sizes and weights. The heavier the ball, the bigger the challenge to the core.
-Just sitting and bouncing on the therapy ball is a core workout in itself.
4 || Plank
This one is an obvious (and overall) core strengthener. Have your child lay on his stomach on the floor with his hands flat on the floor at shoulder level and toes on the floor. On the count of 3, have him push up on his hands to straighten his arms and lift his whole body all the way to his toes off of the floor (above).
How to Change it Up:
-Have your child hold the plank position on his forearms with his elbows at 90 degrees instead of his hands. If holding his whole body off of the floor is too much, try dropping the knees to the floor for support. While in that position, have him lift an arm straight out in front and hold. How about an opposite arm and leg? Can he hold it long enough for another child to creep underneath or for 3 balls to roll under?
5 || Core Strengthening Exercises for Babies:
That’s right, we’re talking about Tummy Time! Before they’re born, babies spend 9 months crunched into a very tight space. They need Tummy Time to stretch out their abdominal muscles and strengthen the muscles of their neck and back.
What skills will this help the child accomplish? Crawling, standing, walking, jumping, skipping…just to name a few! Click through to learn more about why Tummy Time is important and about some great toys and props that can help make Tummy Time even more fun!
6 || Wheelbarrow Walking:
Again, have your child lay on his stomach on the floor. While you hold his knees (easier) or ankles (bit more of a challenge), have him walk his hands forward 10 steps and backward 10 steps. Can he walk forward to a ball and and put it in a basket with one hand? How long can he hold this position without pulling their legs away?
How to Change it Up:
-Place an object on the child’s back and see if he can get it across the room without it falling off. -See if he can tap a balloon, keeping it up in the air in front of him as he walks.
-See if he can complete a puzzle from this position, wheelbarrow walking across the room to retrieve the pieces.
-For a BIG challenge, try holding the wheelbarrow position in front of a few steps. See if your child can put their right hand up on the first step and then their left. Can they return their hands to the ground? Doesn’t this make your core muscles scream just imagining it?!
Core Strengthening Through Games and Everyday Play
While the core strengthening exercises described above are perfect for targeting core strengthening specifically, sometimes good old fashioned play activities can have just as much benefit. Below is a list of awesome ideas for play that will hit those core muscles hard:
-Negotiating an obstacle course
-Climbing up a slide instead of sliding down
-Playing tug of war
-Check out these creative, homemade weighted activities
Core Strengthening Toys & Games
1 || Core Exercise Cards for Kids by Super Duper
6 || Upper Body and Core Strength Cards
More Core Strengthening Therapy Tools and Resources
Core Strengthening Through Everyday Play
Core Strengthening: 6 Great Toys and Games for Kids
Side Effects of Weak Core Muscles in Kids
10 Everyday Core Strengthening Activities for Children
How to Tell if Your Child Has Weak Core Muscles
Core Strengthening Activities for Kids: Plank
One Surprising Cause of Attention Problems in Kids
Looking for more core strengthening therapy tools?
Check out The Core Strengthening Handbook and The Core Strengthening Exercise Program! Inside each core strengthening exercises pdf you’ll find tons of great ideas for working on core strength with kids!
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These are awesome suggestions! I was just looking for this exact thing for my 6year old. Thank you so much! Love your blog!
Hi Leigh…thank you for taking the time to comment and for your kind words! We are so glad that you found the suggestions helpful for your child. Let us know how they go!!
I think I just found my new favorite site!!! I’m an elementary pe teacher and had back surgery at 33. It is my goal to make sure my kids know how to keep their core in shape! These will be great fun activities they can do. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Lisa! So glad you found this post and that it was a helpful resource for you! Thanks so much for stopping by and for your nice comment! :)
Very informative website and blog!!! Can I subscribe by email at bebekennedy30@gmail.com Thanks!
Thank you Beverly! And, most certainly! We will put your email address in our subscribers list now!
Thank you so much for your suggestions. I’ve become very concerned about my almost 8 year old as I’ve noticed she can’t sit up for more than a couple minutes without leaning on something. This is just what I was looking for!
Great ideas I will use with my kindergarteners. But PLEASE use the words lie and lay correctly. “Lay” needs and object: lay the child on the bed. “Lie” doesn’t need an object: lie down on the floor.
I also want to start practicing at home. On the other hand I do not know whether regular bench crunches http://www.open-youweb.com/lawka-do-brzuszkow-olympics-sport-opinia/ will be good and maybe better to buy something better?
Thank you for this excellent guide, my son was diagnosed with autism (high functioning) and has had an occupational therapy assessment, they said he needs to build up his core as he tenses so much when writing, I hope we can use this to build him up, Thanks!
I really enjoyed this post and find it invaluable. I am a PTA w/ 2 children, both of whom struggled through developmental milestones as babies and toddlers. To this day when one or both get the ‘wiggles’ when the object is concentration, I will have them sit on the therapy ball and bounce 100 times. They love it because it’s fun to bounce, they incorporate counting, and it ultimately calms them down.
hI, My granddaughter of 7, 8 in march has inkapisis (not sure if I have spelt it correctly) , I was wondering if what you do could help her with this problem. As what ever she has tried to do has done nothing to help this little girls, she finds it extremely embarrassing, especially while at school..
I am sure you know what it is, I would appreciate it if you would respo0nd to me as soon as possible. I can not give you me email address as I am not at my office, I am standing in for someone at work, and was wondering if you would text me on my cell with your number and I will call you back Many Thanks Cheryl 0828538151
i am currently working with a severe visually impaired student who does not sit up in class and seems disinterested in lessons. i am working on her core skills to try to alleviate this problem. Will try these exercises with her. Any more ideas would be welcomed with her visual impairment taken into account.
Yes! Perfect! Just what I needed! And yes! Ours was the result of a <<>> and resulting developmental regression. I have wonderful pictures pre-injury where his posture is perfect and post-injury he is hunched like a question mark. Fast forward 4 years and our healing/recovery is nearly complete except for the pesky core and posture and resulting clumsiness. We are going to start doing these!!! Thank you for your beautiful blog!
Can you please film a DVD kids can follow along to just like an adult fitness video? Please? :)
Hi Stacy! Thanks for your comment! Check out our Core Strengthening Exercise Program! You can scan the QR codes to find videos of each activity! :)
Thanks for this wonderful post! My 6 year old son has diastasis recti. Would all of these exercises be safe for him? I know planks and sit ups are a no no. There is such little info about kids with diastasis and increase core strength.
Yes! My 8 year old also has a diastasis recti that we thought had closed, but seems to have reopened recently. He is in Taekwondo, so we are looking for alternative core exercises as we know sit ups are a no go, but I didn’t know the plank was bad as well. Did you try these exercises with your child?
This is amazing. Thanks so much for putting the efforts to write this. It’s going to be super helpful for my kids X