Winter sports for toddlers

The health benefits of winter sports can’t be understated. Lifestyle writer Harry Wilson writes that engaging in winter sports burns calories and boosts cardiovascular health, but also surprisingly improves balance and enhances overall mental and emotional well-being. We do need our Vitamin D year-round, afterall!

“We all feel slumberous during winters, all you want to do is tuck into your cozy bed and sleep all day. Why not try and fight this laziness and actually enjoy the cold snowy weather?” Wilson writes.

Social Benefits of Kids Sports

Health and emotional benefits to kids aside, winter sports offer a particularly special opportunity to socialize. 

Having opportunities to engage in healthy activities with their friends - and to make new friends - gives children a sense of identity and comfort around people that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

 A child’s social benefit can begin as soon as they start crawling and walking to their friends, so the opportunity to start getting your kids involved in winter sports is never too early.

Are you ready to experience snowy winter wonderlands and watching your child see his breath for the first time?

The list we’ve put together is split between indoor and outdoor sports. Sometimes it’s just far too cold to be outside, and offering a range of options for your child will help keep the chilly winter months full of fun.  

The most important part of winter sports is safety. And wearing the right clothing is absolutely necessary to ensure your child is comfortable and has fun out in the cold. And that doesn’t have to be boring with for staying warm.

Ice skating is more than a winter sport. It’s a dance on the ice.

Children who are dancers tend to love ice skating. It’s a balance between athleticism and skill, and the joy of floating on the ice - and wait until you learn to go backwards! - is enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Ice skating is all about accessories, so a cozy hat is perfect for the chilly air of the skating rink. Additionally, instructors always suggest wearing gloves to protect the fingers - skates have real blades, and you don’t want a fallen child to have to visit the hospital because of a skate cut.

See the end of this article for a link to find an ice skating rink near you. 

Basketball season starts heating up in the winter, and there’s perhaps no better cardiovascular workout than this sport.

Kids of almost all ages can play basketball. Joseph Siegal, a basketball coach for over twenty years, wrote that youth leagues start accepting new players at ages four or five.

But, children can start playing around with basketballs by the age of two. Dribbling improves motor skills, and as a true team sport it develops a positive attitude toward teamwork and relationship-building no matter their age.

With a nice pair of leggings, your basketball princess can toss three pointers and slam dunk in comfort and style. They’ll make up for the mesh-neon frocks they usually make kids wear, we promise!

If there’s one sport you can travel with, it’s soccer.

While the United States is obsessed with football and basketball, the world revolves around soccer. And, if you’re a jet setting parent who gives your child the gift of travel, knowing how to play soccer will connect them with children all over the world.

And after practice, wrap up your little guy in a thickly-padded and stylish parka to keep him warm between the gym and the car. Future champions can’t catch cold to win gold, afterall!

With the right cleats and an energetic spirit, you may be raising the world’s next soccer star. But, at least you’ll know your child is having fun in a sport that children the world over are playing.

Tennis is a classic sport, and one that any kid can get into. 

The racket satisfies a specific appeal to use a tool with their hands, something that any kid who loves to play with plastic swords will love. A small ball trains your child’s hand-eye coordination, and may spark a new lifelong passion.

Tennis is between two players, so the need for team colors is out the window. That means we’re in luck - your child can wear whatever they want!

Whether a tennis skirt is the right look, or just a fun and breathably loose t-shirt will do the trick, tennis is not only a fun sport - it’s a stylish one.

Hockey for kids is a high-energy sport that builds endurance, hand-eye coordination, and teamwork. Many children who play hockey when they’re children continue on for years, often through high school. 

With the right gear, any boy or girl can dive into hockey for their own chance at the Stanley Cup. What parents should focus on is what they are wearing underneath all their protective clothing.

Sweaters, athletic pants, and leggings are great accessories for extra warmth at the rink. With the exact amount of layering, your child should be able to move freely while staying cozy-warm. Hockey underclothing for children should be breathable, flexible, and durable to last through their latest slapshot.

Staying safe while playing hockey is a primary concern for any parent. That’s why, at the end of the article, check out what USA Hockey Magazine has to say to keep kids safe playing hockey.

Outdoor Winter Sports for Kids

For those perfect opportunities to brave the cold outdoors, there’s plenty of options.

Cross-country skiing is an incredible way to see the splendid sceneries of wintery beauty with your family. It’s like hiking with skis on!

It’s also a great way to introduce your child to skiing later in life. It’s an easy sport to engage in - you just need the equipment and instruction on a few key motions and your little guy is on the way down the snow trail.

A solid winter jacket - with the right insulation and design for optimal flexibility - is essential to any snow-swept ski trip. Along with goggles and a sturdy set of winter gloves, your child can explore the beauty of winter’s icy charms safely and comfortably.

Find a list of cross-country ski trails near you at the end of this article. 

It’s a classic pastime for wintry weekends. All you need is a hill, some snow, and determination to climb.

Dress children snow-appropriate with thick leggings,  , and durable winter jackets. They’re not only going to snow tube through the snow - they’ll probably want to jump around as well!

Another great winter sport for taking in the scenery.

Snowshoeing is incredible because it allows you to walk off the beaten path and into areas typically too deep to walk through. It’s also relatively easy to pick up - just strap on your snowshoes and get going.

Like snow tubing for kids, a best-dressed snowshoe-er has a thickly-insulated jacket, a great set of boots and a friend to share the journey with. As a parent the experience of seeing your child enjoy beautiful snowy scenes on their time is breathtaking. Winter snowshoe hikes - it sounds strange - might actually be a great way to connect with your child.

What should you wear when going sledding? What’s comfortable for when you go sledding? What will your kid like to wear while rolling around in the snow?

We find the answer in ourselves for this question, because sledding has been a part of winter activities for as long as there have been sleds. It’s an exhilarating winter activity that adds a special kind of energy to the cold winter months. 

And, whether you sledded with your parents or not, the pictures of children wide-eyed from their first sail down the hill will be treasures you cherish in your photo albums and Instagram galleries for years to come. 

And last, but not least…

And everything else you will enjoy with your child during winter.

At the end of the day, winter - just like any other season - is a great opportunity for so many things. It’s the perfect time to cozy up, suit up, and post up some of the best photos you’ll take all year.

Winter sports for kids - from snowball fights to indoor tennis, and everything else in between - is first and foremost about fun. Dressing your child for winter sports should reflect that belief.

Make sure they are comfortable - we all remember Ralphie’s brother Randy from A Christmas Story, right?

Then, ensure how you dress your child is safe for the conditions. Extreme winter cold takes extreme precautions to enjoy, so do it safely and comfortably.

After all is said and done, you’ll have golden memories with your child that will live on forever. Cheers from us at Catimini. 

5. 7 Amazing Benefits of Winter Sports
6. What is a Good Age for Children to Start Playing Basketball?
7. Find an Ice Skating Rink Near You
8. Protecting Kids From Things That Go Bump On The Ice: Safety in Hockey
9. Find a Cross-Country Ski Trail Near You

12 Sports for Kids To Try This Winter

Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of ways to stay active. Bundle up, don’t forget sunblock and water even in January, and have a great time with these sports for kids to try this winter.

This is a fast-moving sport, indoors or outdoors, that gets kids working on many different skills at the same time. For instance, they learn movement and coordination while ice skating. They also improve hand-eye coordination with hockey sticks making contact with the puck. Combine it all together and games are also opportunities to refine gross and fine motor skills. This game is built on teamwork and cooperation, while also keeping kids active and engaged. If you’re looking for sports for kids to try this winter that check off multiple boxes, look no further than hockey.

If you live in a place where snowboarding and skiing is nearby, take advantage of your good luck and give these sports a try. You’ll never look at a snowfall the same way again. Snowboarding and skiing help kids improve their coordination and motor skills, as well as leg muscles and core strength. As they get better and stronger, their self-esteem and confidence go up, too. These are exhilarating sports that encourage children to see physical activity and fun as one and the same. You can also participate in these activities as a family.

Basketball is one of those sports kids can learn as a child and keep playing well into adulthood. Starting off in local leagues, or even after-school programs with KidzToPros, is an easy way to introduce your child to the sport. Watch them get better while learning foundational skills, teamwork and cooperation. They’ll also grow stronger arms and legs from dribbling, throwing and running. There isn’t a neighborhood court around that isn’t full on weekends with adults who still love to play. This also leads to lifelong fitness.

Dancing on ice is another one of those sports for kids to try this winter that works on multiple levels. Such levels include learning the skill of skating on ice while also incorporating upper body strength, creativity, control and endurance. When ice skaters perform, they showcase the ability to set goals and compete gracefully under pressure. These are skills that last a lifetime.

If you live where it’s too cold to play tennis outside, call your local tennis clubs to see about indoor courts. This is a great sport to introduce to children who want to play with others, but as an individual athlete rather than a team player. It’s also non-contact, which means it’s easier on growing bodies. Tennis improves hand-eye coordination, control and involves the whole body for a workout that keeps young athletes flexible and fit. Check out KidzToPros tennis programs for more information!

Another indoor or outdoor sport, racquetball is a lot like tennis in that it involves rackets and balls. It’s also an individual sport that improves hand-eye coordination as well as gross motor skills. However, instead of players hitting the ball across the net at each other, racquetball players face a wall and hit the ball to each other by bouncing it off that wall. It’s still a whole body workout and a whole lot of fun.

The best sports for kids to try this winter allow a blend between individual and team environments. With gymnastics, they get to improve with plenty of action on the mat while at the same time socializing and cheering each other on. Young gymnasts work on core strength, dexterity and movement. This improves coordination and confidence.

Think of this sport as snow hiking. Again, it’s nice to introduce children to ways they can stay fit their whole lives. This isn’t something people “grow out of” like other sports. Once someone gets out walking and observing nature, it tends to stay with them forever. Snowshoeing involves special shoes that allow you to hike along wooded trails with snow on the ground. Whole families enjoy this activity, bonding and staying physically active at the same time. It’s also a great opportunity to see birds and other animals as well as breathtaking sites of beauty in wintertime.

Kids, as well as adults who embrace their younger selves, enjoy getting into over-inflated tires for exhilarating snow rides. This all-ages sport can involve every member of the family for a day on different kinds of slopes. If you find yourself in a wintery wonderland, check out the snow tubing opportunities in the area. Afterwards, enjoy hot cocoa and the fun you had yelling “wheeee!” with your kids.

If you find yourself out skiing for the day, and having a great time, consider making it last a little longer. Most ski lodges and resorts offer night skiing and it’s fun to try even for novice skiers. Slopes are majestic in moonlight and the feel of skiing with muted light feels a bit adventurous. Some places even offer inflatable pillows for ski jumpers to observe sunset from the air.

Your kids will learn the basics of this sport quickly, and then enjoy the process of perfecting their skills over the course of years. This is why cross-country skiing is becoming a favorite among families because they can do this together. Sliding through the woods is great fun and builds endurance, leg muscles and coordination. Sure, you might fall over a few times. But soft snow will break each fall. You can also stop whenever you want for hot cocoa!

Children and adults love to dance so much, it’s easy to forget this is actually considered by many to be a kind of sport. Dancers are certainly athletes, even if we don’t think of them primarily as such. Any kind of dancing promotes strength, coordination and muscle tone. This includes ballroom dancing, folk, salsa, ballet, or jazz – just to name a few. Check out hip-hop dance for kids at KidzToPros near you.

Whether you live near snow or local weather is just slightly cooler, take the kids out for some fun. Most sports for kids to try this winter can involve the family and provides hours of fun for all of you, all winter long.  

Winter sports - JV "Kindergarten Constellation" p.g.t. Petra Dubrava

Sports activities in winter are extremely useful, as they are always associated with movement. At the same time, physical training is usually carried out in the fresh air, so they perfectly harden the body, improve the condition of the respiratory and immune systems, strengthen the defenses of the child's body, reducing the risk of infectious, colds. We started introducing children to winter sports in kindergarten by showing sets of thematic pictures for each sport. Under a series of pictures prepared stories about them.

Winter sport is a sport played on snow or ice, i.e. predominantly in winter.

Winter sports include: cross-country skiing, biathlon, freestyle, snowboarding, luge, figure skating, skeleton, short track, ice hockey, curling.

Winter games on the snow:

Cross-country skiing - cross-country skiing races for a certain distance on a specially prepared track among people of a certain category. They belong to cyclic sports. Olympic sport since 1924 years.

Biathlon is a winter Olympic sport that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting.

Freestyle - type of skiing. Freestyle disciplines are ski acrobatics, mogul, ski cross, halfpipe, slopetile.

Snowboarding is an Olympic sport that consists in descending from snow-covered slopes and mountains on a special apparatus - a snowboard.

Ski orienteering - ski orienteering competitions are held in stable snow conditions in the disciplines: in a given direction, on a marked track, or a combination of these types

Winter Ice Games

Luge is a downhill competition in a single or double sledge on a pre-prepared track. Athletes sit on the sled on their backs, feet first. The sleigh is controlled by changing the position of the body.

Figure skating - speed skating, refers to complex coordination sports. The main idea is to move an athlete or a pair of athletes on skates on ice with changes in the direction of sliding and performing additional elements to the music.

In figure skating, there are 4 main, basic elements: steps, spirals, rotations and jumps. There are also a number of specific elements performed in one type of figure skating, such as lifts, twists, throws, death drops in pair skating.

Skeleton is a winter Olympic sport, which is a descent along an ice chute on a two-runner sled on a reinforced frame, the winner of which is determined by the sum of two or four races.

Skating . Rules: In classic skates, they run in pairs - one athlete is on the outer track, the other on the inner track, the lanes change every lap. Races are run counterclockwise. In the team pursuit, two teams of three skaters start on opposite straights and run the entire distance along the inside track.

Short track (speed skating on a short track) is a form of speed skating. In competitions, several athletes (usually 4-8: the longer the distance, the more athletes in the race) simultaneously skate along an oval ice track 111.12 m long.

Bandy is a winter sports team game played on an ice field with the participation of two teams (ten field players and one goalkeeper each).

Ice hockey . A team sports game on ice, which consists in a confrontation between two teams on skates, which, passing the puck with sticks, seek to throw it as many times as possible into the opponent's goal and not let it into their own. The team that scores the most goals against the opponent wins.

Curlin is a team sports game on an ice rink. The participants of the two teams alternately launch special heavy granite projectiles (“stones”) across the ice towards a target marked on the ice (“houses”). Each team has four players.

Such conversations with preschoolers help children enrich their knowledge and skills and give them the opportunity to use them in physical education classes in winter, to experience the joy of discoveries, victories and success.

Winter sports for children

It's not long before winter sets in, which means it's time to talk about winter sports. And this conversation is about choosing such a sport for your child. The variety of winter sports can be confusing, and if you add parental anxiety about safety to this, then there is a chance of completely abandoning the idea of ​​\u200b\u200braising an athlete.

And so that this does not happen and you have the opportunity to weigh all the pros and cons, we will analyze some of the most popular winter sports.

If we talk about the benefits, then winter sports give children an excellent opportunity to combine business with pleasure. This is physical activity, and a fun pastime, and communication of interests, and hardening. And there is no need to be afraid of sub-zero temperatures, because. they can also be attributed to the benefits, because the cold, with the right approach, has a beneficial effect on the growing body, activating all defense systems and raising immunity. Winter sports in the open air are great for improving children's health.

The advantages include constant mobility and good mood, which ensures good sleep and lack of stress.

You can't argue with the benefits of winter sports, but you can't call them safe either. Therefore, we should not forget about the existence of contraindications:

• disorders in the development of connective tissue
• problems associated with the musculoskeletal system
• diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory system
• kidney diseases
• previous injuries

Here it is important to understand that in order to practice such sports, the child must be physically ready, his musculoskeletal system is developed, his nervous system is stable, he already knows how to communicate in a team and listen to the coach's instructions, etc. In many sports, the optimal age for starting classes is 6-7 years old, although figure skating groups are recruited from the age of 4, but hockey is advised to start seriously practicing from 9years.

The first association from the name is children's winter fun, sledding down the mountain and these breathtaking sensations.
But luge is not a joke and far from entertainment.
Speaking in terms, luge is a downhill race on a sled, which has its subspecies: classic, naturban and skeleton. Each subspecies has its own characteristics.

This sport is suitable for both boys and girls, you can enroll in the section from the age of 5, but it is better to start practicing professionally from the age of 10.

What do you need to know before taking your child to such a section? Firstly, to correctly assess the physical data of your child, in order to control the sled, the body must be ready for regular training, you need to be able to control it. The second factor in luge is the weight of the athlete, along with equipment and equipment.

One of the most popular winter sports, loved by both adults and children. You can start training from 5-6 years old, at this age the main thing is to learn how to stand on skis and maintain balance.

Benefits of skiing - a positive effect on all muscle groups, develops qualities such as determination, self-confidence and motivation to go forward without leaving the difficult path.

The disadvantages of this sport include seasonality. The lack of snow becomes a problem for year-round activities. In this case, there are sports bases with artificial conditions for training.

Snowboarding is a favorite sport among young people. If your child is not indifferent to a skateboard, then he may like the offer to try his hand at a snowy slope. You can start conquering the first, albeit small, peaks from the age of 5.

Don't let the extreme nature of this sport scare you. Beginning snowboarders learn for the first few years either on flat surfaces or on the smallest slopes. With the development of the necessary skills, there is a desire to improve them, courage and excitement in learning new tricks.

But parents should understand and be prepared for the fact that as your child grows and his skills, the slopes will become steeper, the speed will be higher, the tricks will be more difficult.

Hockey lessons will teach your child many useful skills and even correct his character in some way. He will not only learn to confidently skate, work in multitasking mode, but also feel like part of a team solving a common problem.

It is very important to learn how to be a significant link in such a team. All these and many other skills can serve well in the further development of personality.

You can start learning to skate at the age of 3-4, and by the age of 6-7 he will begin to master the basics of the hockey game. Once upon a time, hockey was played exclusively by “real men”, but the world is changing and today women's hockey confidently takes its rightful place among winter sports. Therefore, there are also hockey clubs for girls.

Skating can be a winter hobby or it can lead to a big sport.

In any case, it is only for the benefit of the growing body, because
spending time on the skating rink is a panacea for all ailments. Ice skating has a beneficial effect on all body systems, forms the correct posture, smooth sliding on ice calms and relieves stress.

Of course, ice is ice and you can't do without falls, but that's why you need an experienced coach nearby who will not only teach you how to skate, but also how to fall correctly so as not to get injured.

Figure skating

A beautiful, spectacular and very popular sport that attracts with its virtuosity and courage.

This sport appeals equally to girls and boys.
Acquired skills: good coordination, ability to keep posture, performing complex elements on the ice, will help you feel more confident in later life.

Like any sport, figure skating helps to strengthen the volitional qualities of an athlete, makes him grow up earlier, be able to set goals, and sometimes prohibitions for himself.

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