Active Winter Activities for Your Sitter and Your Child

In most places, winter is one of the coldest seasons. Because of this, it can be difficult for your babysitter to find active activities for your kids to do. It can be difficult to know what your child likes or even if they like the cold weather over the warmth of spring and summer. However, there are things your kids and your babysitter can do to help them stay active without spending so much money and you may be surprised with what they end up enjoying.

Ice skating

Ice skating is fun and can be inexpensive. This is especially true if your babysitter and kids have their own skates and your local park has a rink you can use. Otherwise, leave money so they can use it at an indoor rink. If your sitter has never been ice skating, consider teaching them the basics or gifting them lessons. Ensure they know how to safely tell if an outdoor rink is safe to use or not. Indoor rinks usually have open skate times, so be sure your babysitter is aware of the schedule if they are only going to skate and not do lessons.

Sledding

Sledding is a fun activity if you live in a place that gets a lot of snow. Some places have indoor sledding, but your sitter and kids will likely have to do it outside. In order to keep your kids safe, Make sure your sitter helps your kids stick to smaller, less crowded hills until they become more experienced sledders. Sledding is relatively inexpensive compared to other activities as sleds tend to be less expensive than other activities’ equipment.

Snowball fights

Snowball fights are relatively safe but they can be very fun at the same time. Have your sitter show your kids how to make a snowball and even a fort to hide behind. Snowball fights are especially fun if you have multiple children, but it can be your kids playing against your babysitter. There are so many strategies to teach and potentially even from the kids. All you need is some snow, so this activity is arguably the least expensive winter activity.

Image: Vika Glitter via https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-and-child-playing-in-snow-1620651/

Indoor swimming

Even when the weather outside is frightful, there are places where your babysitter can take your kids swimming indoors. Many of these pools are heated, so you do not have to worry about your kids being cold. Kids will love being able to swim in the winter. Just be sure the sitter knows of open swimmings that are coming up and any ongoing schedule. Pay for your kids and sitter to use the pool as well as additional amenities like potentially needing a locker in a locker room.

Snowman competition

While this activity is a little less active than the other options, it is still fun. The babysitter can be the judge so they can be the judge, especially if you have multiple kids. Get together the necessary supplies for the competition, including carrots for noses, clothing accessories, and buttons for eyes. Make sure you have a variety of styles of clothing available to choose from.

Animal footprints

When it snows, you have the opportunity to go and look for footprints of various animals in the freshly fallen snow. Have your babysitter and child do a scavenger hunt to find as many footprints as possible. Tell your child to take a notebook or a piece of paper with them so they can log the different footprints and try to guess what animal they come from. When they home from the walk, have them look up the footprints online so they can see if they were right.

Play outside

Kids love playing outside after it snows. They do not necessarily need structured playtime, especially if they go to school. If they have a snow day, let them enjoy the day of playing in a free and creative way. They can bring their favorite fun things to play with outside. Have your kids try to construct a play space out of snow, especially if those spaces are away from other playgrounds. Encourage them to explore the space around them to see what they discover about the snow.

Indoor play spaces

It is possible that your child will not like the cold and snow as much as others. Look online to find little gyms or other indoor play spaces. Not only will your child be happy and entertained, but your babysitter will be willing to repeat place or similar. The more your child visits a new place, they will develop a love for it and will want to go back. They may even make new friends in their indoor play area. Many fast food places and even malls have indoor play areas you can use.

Snow days are so much fun, so try to have a list of these activities your babysitter can do with your kids.