Age-by-Age Adaptations
Invigorate children of all ages with these exercises.
Most movement activities can be adapted to work well for younger, older, or even mixed-age groups.
Babies
- Provide an open, safe-play surface for babies to move around freely.
- Put age-appropriate materials on a blanket with babies and encourage little ones to reach for, grab, roll over toward, or crawl to the objects.
- Hold a baby while you sing and move to the beat. Invite other children to dance along!
- Place babies on their backs and slowly, gently move their arms or legs to mimic some of the moves that other children are doing, like marching or pretending to be a bird.
School-Age
- Kids love being “helpers,” so ask them to help set up activities or be a younger child’s buddy or “teacher.”
- Invite them to demonstrate their physical skills (such as jumping, kicking, throwing, and catching) to younger children. This can boost older children’s confidence while motivating the younger ones.
- Challenge older kids to keep moving longer than younger ones, who enjoy shorter bursts of activity.
- Ask older children to take on jobs such as leading an activity or making up a new game.
- Have them help set up a safe indoor or outdoor obstacle course for younger children.
- If there are several older children, have them make up a dance to perform for everyone else.
To Like or Not to Like
Like most children, Cookie Monster’s niece is a little… choosy. Check out his strategy for helping her try a new food!
Go To Sleep, Elmo!
Handling a middle-of-the-night monster moment.
Cookie Monster’s Beach Day
When children are in the hospital, their imagination can become a valuable tool in soothing themselves.
Listen, Feel, and See with Elmo
When children are in the hospital, this mindfulness game can help them soothe themselves.
Sleep Struggles... and Successes
Questions, Questions
Wellness visits are important moments to check in about your child’s growth and development, and good conversations are the cornerstones of each visit.
Today, Tonight, and Tomorrow
It takes a special kind of patience to handle children’s middle-of-the-night wakeups! Read about how a Monster-Fairy family manages it.
