Prone position refers to lying face down, which helps children develop their upper body and core muscles.
These activities encourage children to explore their environment while building strength and confidence.
We will explore fun Prone Position Activity for Kids.
Tummy Time Treasure Hunt:
Transform tummy time into an exciting treasure hunt adventure for your little one. Place a variety of safe and age-appropriate toys or objects around them while they lie on their tummy. Encourage them to reach and grab the toys, promoting their upper body strength and coordination. You can hide colorful objects under a blanket or create a mini obstacle course with soft cushions to make it even more engaging. This activity not only strengthens their core muscles but also enhances their sensory exploration and problem-solving skills.
Crawling Race:
Set up a crawling race course using pillows, blankets, and soft obstacles. Place colorful markers or toys at the end of the course as checkpoints. Encourage your child to crawl from the starting line to each checkpoint, building their upper body and core strength as they navigate through the obstacles. You can cheer them on, creating a sense of excitement and motivation. This activity not only promotes physical development but also enhances their coordination, spatial awareness, and perseverance.
Related: 20 Fun and Engaging Things to Do With Your 1 Year Old
Animal Walks:
Embrace your child’s imagination and creativity by engaging in animal walks. Encourage them to imitate different animal movements while in the prone position. They can crawl like a bear, slither like a snake, waddle like a penguin, or hop like a frog. Not only does this activity strengthen their upper body and core muscles, but it also promotes body awareness, balance, and coordination. Get involved and have fun by joining them in the animal walks, creating a playful bonding experience.
Balloon Volleyball:
Inflate a balloon and create a mini volleyball game while lying on the tummy. Place a soft barrier, such as a folded blanket, in the middle of the play area as a net. Encourage your child to hit the balloon back and forth with their hands, using their upper body strength. This activity not only promotes core muscle development but also enhances hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills. You can make it more challenging by increasing the distance between the players or adding more balloons to the game.
Superhero Training:
Transform your child into a superhero while they engage in prone position activities. Set up an imaginary superhero training camp and create different challenges that require them to use their upper body strength. For example, they can practice flying by lifting their arms and legs off the ground or save the day by crawling through an obstacle course. Encourage imaginative play and celebrate their superhero achievements, making them feel strong and confident. This activity not only promotes physical development but also boosts their self-esteem and imagination.
Yoga for Kids:
Introduce your child to the benefits of yoga through prone position poses. Start with simple poses like the cobra pose or the extended child’s pose. Encourage them to stretch their arms, lift their chest, and explore different positions while lying on their tummy. Use playful names for the poses, such as “snake pose” or “starfish pose,” to make it more engaging. Yoga for kids promotes flexibility, strength, body awareness, and relaxation, all while they have fun exploring different poses.
Simon Says:
Play a fun game of Simon Says while in the prone position. Give instructions such as “Simon says lift your right arm” or “Simon says kick your legs.” Your child will have to listen carefully and follow the instructions, engaging their upper body and core muscles. This activity not only promotes physical development but also enhances listening skills, body awareness, and the ability to follow directions. Make it even more enjoyable by incorporating animal movements or silly actions into the game.
Bubble Pop:
Create a bubble popping challenge for your child while lying on their tummy. Blow bubbles and encourage them to use their hands or elbows to reach and pop the bubbles. This activity promotes upper body strength, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills. It also adds a sensory element as they feel the bubbles and hear them pop. You can make it more challenging by using larger bubbles or increasing the distance between the bubbles.
Alphabet Race:
Combine learning with prone position play by organizing an alphabet race. Write or print letters of the alphabet on index cards or pieces of paper and scatter them around the room. Call out a letter, and your child has to find and touch the corresponding letter as quickly as possible while lying on their tummy. This activity encourages upper body strength, letter recognition, and cognitive skills. You can increase the difficulty level by asking them to say a word that starts with the chosen letter.
Shape Tracing:
Enhance your child’s fine motor skills and shape recognition by engaging in shape tracing while in the prone position. Draw different shapes on a large piece of paper or use shape templates. Encourage your child to reach and trace the shapes using their fingers or a washable marker. This activity promotes upper body strength, hand-eye coordination, and shape recognition. You can make it more interactive by naming the shapes as they trace them and asking them to find objects in the room that match each shape.
Obstacle Course:
Create a mini obstacle course using pillows, cushions, tunnels, and other safe materials. Set up the course in a room or a designated area and encourage your child to navigate through it while in the prone position. They can crawl under the tunnel, crawl over pillows, or even climb over soft obstacles. This activity promotes upper body strength, coordination, balance, and spatial awareness. Make it more exciting by adding a timer and challenging them to complete the course in a certain amount of time.
Mirror Play:
Place a child-safe mirror in front of your child while they are lying on their tummy. Encourage them to lift their head, look in the mirror, and make funny faces or mimic your expressions. Mirror play promotes neck and core strength, visual tracking, and facial recognition. Your child will enjoy exploring their own reflections and interacting with you through the mirror.
Ball Roll:
Lie down face-to-face with your child and place a soft ball between you. Start rolling the ball back and forth, encouraging them to use their hands or arms to push it back to you. This activity strengthens their upper body muscles and hand-eye coordination. You can make it more challenging by using a larger ball or increasing the distance between you. This playful interaction fosters bonding and promotes physical development.
Puppet Show:
Set up a small puppet theater or use a blanket as a stage. Lie down on your tummy and use puppets or stuffed animals to put on a show for your child. Move the puppets around, make funny voices, and engage them in the story. Encourage your child to reach out and interact with the puppets. This activity stimulates their imagination, enhances social skills, and strengthens their upper body and neck muscles as they lift their head to watch the show.
Backyard Explorer:
Take your child on a backyard exploration adventure while lying on their tummy. Place a blanket or mat in the yard and let them observe the nature around them. Encourage them to reach out and touch leaves, grass, or flowers. Talk about the different colors, textures, and sounds they experience. This activity promotes sensory exploration, strengthens their upper body, and enhances their connection with the natural world.
Puzzles and Sorting:
Engage your child in prone position puzzles and sorting activities. Place age-appropriate puzzles or sorting games in front of them while lying on their tummy. Encourage them to use their hands to manipulate the puzzle pieces or sort objects into different categories. This activity promotes fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, cognitive development, and problem-solving abilities. Choose puzzles or sorting games with bright colors and engaging themes to capture their interest.
Yoga Ball Roll:
Place a large yoga ball in front of your child while they are in the prone position. Encourage them to use their hands or arms to push the ball forward, backward, or sideways. This activity strengthens their upper body muscles, promotes coordination and balance, and develops their spatial awareness. You can even turn it into a game by rolling the ball back and forth between the two of you.
Sensory Bin Exploration:
Create a sensory bin filled with various materials like rice, pasta, cotton balls, or kinetic sand. Let your child lie on their tummy and explore the textures and sensory elements with their hands and fingers. You can add small toys or objects for them to discover as they dig through the sensory bin. This activity stimulates their senses, promotes fine motor skills, and encourages exploration and imaginative play.
Simon Says Yoga:
Combine the fun of Simon Says with yoga poses for a unique prone position activity. Take turns being the leader and call out different yoga poses for your child to imitate. For example, “Simon says do the downward dog” or “Simon says to hold the tree pose.” This activity promotes physical development, flexibility, body awareness, and listening skills. Encourage your child to hold each pose for a few seconds before moving on to the next one.
Bubble Wrap Stomp:
Lay out a sheet of bubble wrap on the floor and encourage your child to stomp on it while lying on their tummy. The sensation of popping the bubbles engages their leg and core muscles, promotes coordination, and provides sensory stimulation. You can create a game by challenging them to pop as many bubbles as they can within a certain time frame or by following a specific pattern.
