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Staying active is essential for everyone and even more crucial for children! However, finding fun, safe activities for kids with limited mobility can be challenging.
In this article, we'll highlight several activities you can try with your child to get them moving, having fun, and socializing with others. But first, let's discover some limited mobility exercises to help kids stay active, build strength, and maintain a healthy routine with the entire family.
Before you start any exercise program, please consult with your child's pediatrician to ensure they are appropriate for the child's age and physical ability. Then, once you have the green light, find a reasonable time to make exercise a part of your child's daily routine.
Using a surface at the right height for your child, play tabletop games to encourage movement. Board games, card games, and puzzles help develop dexterity and social skills, while games of catch—using bean bags or balls—will be a bit more strenuous. Any of these tabletop activities are ones you can try with your child.
These activities can also involve siblings and friends to increase the fun factor.
Resistance bands are excellent wheelchair exercises for kids since they help strengthen muscle groups like the shoulders. You can easily modify these exercises as your child's strength increases. By incorporating different speeds, you can also introduce new challenges. A PT or OT can provide suggestions on specific resistance band activities.
Arm exercises are essential for building strength, especially for increasing your child's ability to perform daily living activities. Work with your child's care team to identify movements that strengthen:
Start small, and work up to using dumbbells for an added challenge.
Using an age-appropriate medicine ball, have your child hold it with both hands at chest level and twist their torso slowly from right to left. Seated twists are great exercises for limited mobility, as they engage core muscles and help improve posture.
These are just a few examples of wheelchair exercises for kids! Talk to your child's care team about other activities for kids with limited mobility since staying active is critical to their mental and physical health.
At Best Care, we understand the challenges of caring for children with limited mobility. We're here to help with all your questions related to family caregiving, offering support, advice, and resources to ensure everyone in the family gets the best care possible.
