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Home Decor Ideas That Help Kids Stay Active 

As a parent, you know that one of the biggest challenges you face today is how to keep your kids off their screens and get them to be more active. It is a problem that parents have faced for generations but with the proliferation of technology over the years, the problem has become even more difficult to solve. Studies say that too much screen time for children can actually result in altered brain chemistry and developmental problems in children. This is why encouraging physical activity and discouraging too much screen time is more important than ever. 

So, how do you get your kids away from their damn iPads and doing something active? One way is to incorporate home design ideas that encourage your kids to stay active. The easier it is for your kids to find fun, physical activities right inside your home, the more they will gravitate towards that and the less they will use their tech. Here are 5 home decor ideas that help kids stay active.

1. Ping Pong Table 

Kids like games. It is a simple fact that was as true decades ago as it is today. If you can take a game and make it part of your home décor, your kids will be more likely to play it because it is always available. Especially if you have multiple kids who are around the same age, a ping pong table is a great addition to any basement, rec room, playroom, or garage. Kids will spend hours engaging in “friendly” competition on the ping pong table and, in turn, stay off their screens.

Ping pong tables come in all shapes and sizes so you will be able to find the perfect table that not only has all the functionality you need but also looks good and is the right size for your space. The PingPongETC Best Ping Pong Tables This Year list will help you decide which one is best. 

2. Climbing Wall 

Climbing walls or indoor rock climbing has exploded in popularity in the last decade. You can now find indoor climbing walls at gyms, dedicated centers, and even on playgrounds. Climbing is such a great physical activity for kids because it develops all kinds of core strength and grip strength and it also has mental benefits, giving kids more tenacity and focus. What is also great about these walls is that they are easy to install and setup almost anywhere. 

You can install a climbing wall on almost any wall in your home. All you need are some handgrips and screws and you can get sets of these online for anywhere from $20 or $30 to a few hundred dollars depending on how many you need and how high-quality you need them to be. Just be careful, depending on how big your kids are and what your walls are made of, you may need to attach the grips to some kind of board and then mount that as opposed to going directly into the wall. 

3. Chalkboard Paint 

While a ping pong table and the materials to create an indoor climbing wall can be a little pricey, you can buy a gallon of chalkboard paint for less than your lunch probably cost today. Chalkboard paint, as the name suggests, is paint that you can paint onto any surface that will turn that surface into a chalkboard that you can write on with chalk and, more importantly, easily erase. This paint is very cool and can transform any plain space into a creative one. 

You can paint a chalkboard anywhere; on a door or a wall or the side of a piece of furniture with chalkboard paint and it instantly becomes a creative outlet for kids. Any space you cover will go a long way towards getting your kids away from screens and helps their creativity but the bigger space you can cover, the more active your kids will be creating pictures, lists, murals, and more on their chalkboard surface. 

4. An Indoor Playhouse  

One thing that will encourage kids to play, be active, and step away from screens is having a space that is truly their own. That is why an indoor playhouse, where kids can get away be in their own space, will help manage screen time. There are plenty of wooden or plastic prefabricated options you can buy for a wide range of prices, but you can also consider making your own or having one custom made. 

Creating a built-in playhouse in a room is a great way to give kids a place to play while also making it look good and maximizing your space. You can create these playhouses underneath beds or with storage on top. A quick scan of Pinterest will show you all kinds of options for creating a space that works for your kids and your home décor. 

5. A Locking Cabinet

The 4 ideas above are all about creating an alternative physical place for your kids to play to get away from screens and technology. There is something else you can create to encourage your kids to be more physical, creative, and playful; boredom. Do you even remember being bored? With all the technology today, you may have to think back to when you were a kid. But when you were a bored kid, that is when you created something cool, made up a game, or went and found a friend to be bored with you. 

Today’s kids are never bored because there is always stimulation in the form of technology. By physically taking those screens away and locking them up for a set period of time, you will force your kids to be bored. This may cause whining and crying or worse initially, but eventually, they will do what bored kids have done for centuries, go out and play. 

Conclusion

In 2020, screen time is unavoidable and that is ok. Limited screen time is not a problem and in some cases, can even be a positive thing for childhood development. When the screen time gets to be too much though, having these elements of home décor will help you navigate the use of technology and give your kids health alternatives to their screens.