While there is absolutely nothing wrong with mind enriching activities (in fact, this is necessary to ensure for a kid’s proper development), as a parent you should never overlook the other essential areas of development to ensure that he grows up as well-rounded individual who excels on many different areas.

One of these is the physical aspect of your kid’s development. Your kid’s physical skills such as fine and gross motor skills, muscle coordination, bilateral coordination, body awareness, spatial relations and body strength are all important aspects of his progress.

Here are some tips to make sure that your kid grows up a physically healthy individual:

1. Proper nourishment. You are what you eat. We often hear this expression. While it’s not necessarily literal (eating pork does not turn you into a pig), its essence revolves around the fact that if you eat healthy you become healthy and vice versa. This is why it is of utmost importance that your kid gets a healthy and balanced diet consisting of all the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals he needs to thrive as a physically healthy individual. Consider following the inverted food pyramid which is a good guide when feeding your kid or preparing his meals.

2. Physical exercise. Give lots of room and opportunities for physical exercise. It is also good to allow your kid to engage in outdoor activities that will strengthen his body while he has fun playing and basking under the warmth of the sun. Just be careful not to expose him too much under direct sunlight.

Encourage physical exercise by playing tag, hide and seek or obstacle course race with your kid. Let him run, jump, dance, and do all sorts of physical activities that are important in fortification of his bodily strength.

3. Dexterity toys. Give your kid toys that improve both his gross and fine motor skills. For example, it is good to give your kid ride on toys, bikes or kid-safe trampoline to enhance his gross motor skills as well as his bilateral coordination and muscle strength.

On the other hand, be sure not to overlook his finer motor skills by giving him toys where his hands will be actively working. Waiting time toys like learning cube are excellent ways of honing your kid’s fine motor skills. For example, the waiting room toy called 5-in-1 play cube offers five different sides of activities where your kid will manipulate wooden pegs, slide wooden beads or work the little toys on their way through the maze.

What’s even great about these KidKraft 5-Sided Activity Cart is that while it hones his fine physical dexterity, they also work to stimulate his mind giving him vast opportunities to use his creativity and imagination.

So be sure to give your kid toys that improve his gross motor skills like ride on toys and bikes and those that work to enhance his fine motor skills such as waiting room toys like Flip-A-Block Alphabet with Handle.