It’s all about balance, and that’s something that Codey tries to show children in his online adventures. Play your 20 minutes on a screen and then move! Meet friends or play with your imagination.

Taking a break from a screen is easy to do when you have a fun alternative to look forward to. The Codey Crawler adventures take children through how to be safe when they play games or watch YouTube, but it’s not just all about being online. Social Kids has joined forces with the experts at Kids Collab, an organisation that promotes an active lifestyle and safe space for kids to play, together we’ve created some alternatives to relieve a child’s eyes and get that blood pumping and imagination soaring.  

Physical activities to play, brought to you by Kids Collab:

1)      The Stocking Adventure

Time to practice kicking and striking. Before you start, gather a small ball or pair of socks rolled up and a stocking. Place the socks at the one end of the stocking and tie it around your child’s waist. Now encourage them to try kick the ‘ball’ using one foot. After a few attempts, change it up so that the stocking is tied to a stable branch. Using a bat or rolled up newspaper, encourage them to hit the stocking as they create their own swing ball.

2)      Magic Carpet Ride

Who thought collecting teddies around a room could be such fun. All you need is a box, some teddies/toy, some rope and a stable object. Tie the rope to a stable object and place the box at the end of the rope. Scatter the teddies around the area near the rope. Encourage your child to sit in the box and pull themselves forward, while they collect the teddies on the way. Tip: place the box on top of a blanket for a smoother ride.

3)      Fun with Colours

Ready to practice some balancing while having fun with colours. All you need is scissors, tape, a pencil and a few different coloured pieces of paper. (Tip: include a pillow to make it more fun). Make a simple colour wheel on a piece of paper using the different colour paper and place the matching colours on their shoes/feet. Encourage your child to balance on one leg while they pick up the
colour off their foot and match it to the colour on the wall. To challenge their balance a bit more, have them stand on a pillow and perform the same activity.

4)      A simple balloon

A blown up balloon can give hours of fun, the floor is larvae, keep the balloon up high, balloon soccer or try keep the balloon up without using your hands. The games are boundless.

5)      Save the ducks

Learning to transfer objects in different ways can be loads of fun. Collect small/lightweight objects to mimic ducks (plastic cups, socks or balls), Sit on a chair, collect the ‘ducks’ between your feet and transfer them into the basket in front of them. Next, try encouraging your child to lie on their back and transfer the ‘ducks’ with their feet overhead into the basket behind them.
Don’t forget to add it the imaginative play element😉

6)      Memory Game

Ready to have some fun jumping in a bag. Get out your socks, some cups and a material bag (e.g. woollies tote bag). Place all the socks around the garden, making sure they have matching pairs and place the cups over it to cover them. Encourage your child to hop around the garden in their bag, trying to locate the matching pairs. They can only pick up one cup at a time and once they have found the matching pair, encourage them to place it in their bag until all the socks have been collected.

Thanks to passionate teams like Kids Collab and Social Kids, parents have access to a wealth of information to help you better balance your child’s time online and still grow up in a technology driven world with a balanced outlook on life.
Let’s build those healthy digital habits from a young age.

Register for a once-off fee of R500 to access all 5 adventures, parent guides, WhatsApp support line and supervised classes if you need them.