Leg Strengthening Activities for Home

Strong leg muscles are important to help children keep up with their peers during activities such as running, jumping, climbing stairs, and playing sports. Try out the following activities to help your child improve their leg strength at home:

Babies

• Kicking legs

  • While Baby is lying on their back, encourage them to kick their legs up and out to interact with a toy such as toys hanging from a play mat or musical toys against a wall.

• Ankle rattles

  • Attach ankle rattles/rattle socks to Baby's ankles to encourage them to bring their feet up toward their mouth.

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• Bicycle kicks

  • With Baby lying on their back, hold their lower legs with your hands and bring one leg up to their belly area while you straighten the opposite leg. Repeat this motion while alternating the leg that bends up to mimic a bicycling motion. Your baby may start to help perform each part of the motion as they get used to it.

Older Babies

• Pulling up to stand

  • Encourage Baby to pull up to stand using a half kneel transition. Challenge Baby by pulling up on different surfaces such as the couch, ottoman, lower/higher surfaces, and flat surfaces (a wall).

• Crawling up the stairs

  • While guarding Baby from behind, encourage them to crawl up the stairs by placing a preferred toy at the top.

• Squats

  • While Baby is holding onto a surface, place a toy for them to grab at or below their knee level to encourage them to do a mini-squat.

Toddlers

• Walking up and down the stairs

  • Have your child hold onto the railing or your hand while they walk up and down the stairs. Place puzzle pieces at the bottom of the stairs and a puzzle at the top so your child walks up and down multiple times while completing the puzzle one piece at a time.

• Scooter board/ride-on toy

  • Encourage your child to propel themselves forward and backward using their legs while sitting on a scooter board or ride-on toy. Make this activity more challenging by having your child navigate around obstacles on the scooter board/ride-on toy.

• Tall kneel walking

  • Have you child hold a tall kneeling position (bottom lifted off heels) and then move forward, sideways, and backward in this position.

School Aged Kids

• Frog jumps

  • Have your child start in a squat position with their hands on the ground in front of them. Instruct them to push off the floor with their arms and legs simultaneously to jump up like a frog. Perform multiple jumps and make it more challenging by jumping over short obstacles.

• Hopping

  • Have your child stand on one leg and hop forward using the same leg. Switch legs and try hopping all directions or over obstacles.

• Lateral walking

  • Have your child face the wall or window and walk sideways. Ensure their feet stay facing the original direction while they sidestep. Stay facing the same way and walk the opposite direction to target the other leg.

DISCLAIMER

The content in this blog should not be used in place of medical advice/treatment and is solely for informational purposes. All activities/exercises posted in this blog should be performed with adult supervision, caution, and at your own risk. Big Leaps, LLC is not responsible for any injury while performing an activity/exercise that has been posted on this blog. If you have any information on the content of our blog, feel free to contact us at info@bigleapsct.com.