February 15, 2020 8:37 pm Fun Indoors Sports Ideas for Your Home
By Guest Contributor, Emily Roberts
Having a family of kids who are very much into sports can be a blessing in today’s world where everyone is glued to a screen of some kind, but it can also be a bit of a curse. After all, not every day is a good one for running around with a ball outside, and sometimes your kids will have to stay home. Don’t worry though – the opportunities for developing some important motor skills and hand-eye coordination don’t end when you walk through your home’s front door. There’s a lot you can do to set up your place in a way that promotes healthy, active playing.
Ping-Pong
It’s a simple game that doesn’t require a lot of room, and it can be very useful for developing proper coordination and quick reflexes. Ping-pong – or table tennis, as it’s also known – is also a relatively inexpensive hobby to pick up. The most expensive part of the whole setup is the table itself, and once you’ve bought that, the biggest expense you’ll have is replacing the occasional broken vase from a ball gone astray. But if you set things up appropriately, even that won’t have to be a problem!
Swimming
Something that admittedly not everyone can do in their own home, swimming is a great way to pass the time while also developing one’s body in multiple aspects. It can be a very challenging sport, and it’s one of the best ways to lay down the foundation for a properly developed body in general. However, as we mentioned above, swimming comes with a major asterisk attached – you need a swimming pool for it. Obviously, not everyone can afford an indoor pool, but you can look into some smaller training setups with simulated waterflow as well. This can be a bit of a costly solution, but it can get the job done if swimming is a big thing for your kids.
Foosball
Another classic that doesn’t take a lot of space or effort to set up, a foosball table can become the central point of your living room if your kids are into that kind of thing. And even if they don’t think they are, you just have to give them a chance with a few rounds on a good table. On that note, it’s very important that you invest in a quality table in the first place. The question “What is the best foosball table for my money?” can be quite a bit more complicated to answer than you might expect, as a lot of factors can come into play. However, you can check sites like Foosball Table Reviews to compare prices and features. Give yourself enough time to do some research and keep in mind that this can be a significant long-term investment, including the maintenance required. It can definitely be worth its money in many ways though.
Pool
Pool often goes unappreciated for what it brings to the table in terms of development opportunities. It’s not the most physically demanding sport, sure – but adeptness at it can easily transfer into other sports, and can improve your kids’ performance in areas that require good coordination and a lot of precision. Fine motor movements can be challenging to develop, and a good game of pool can improve the situation a lot in this regard if you get your kids into it. The only downside is that a pool table can take up a lot of space, and it’s a permanent fixture – it’s not really something you can put away when you’re not using it.
NERF
Many see it as just a toy – and for some parents, cleaning up after a NERF fight often makes it a very annoying one too – but there’s something to be said about the energy exerted from rolling around and taking cover over a period of just 30-60 minutes. NERF can be a fantastic way to get the kids running around the house and actually having fun with it, and the contribution it can have to the motor skills involved in aiming and shooting is not to be underestimated either. Last but not least, and this is not directly related to sports, but NERF is also very popular among people who like to tinker, as it’s a great platform for modding. With that in mind, a few NERF blasters can be a great investment for keeping the kids busy on those rainy days.
Many of those ideas are tied to some limiting factor, such as the amount of room you have available in your home, but no matter what your living situation is like, there should always be something available to keep the kids busy on rainy days while also helping them develop the right skills. And with certain technological advancements on the horizon – like VR – the range of available options will likely keep growing at an exponential rate as well, giving you even more to explore!