Our family is active. We like to get out and MOVE! One of the issues we've encountered with family fitness is that kids of different ages have varying skill and experience levels. It can be challenging to engage everyone in a single activity. The little ones have trouble keeping up. Without encouragement to stay involved, they can easily get frustrated. Family tag helps!
Family Tag Zones Get Everyone Engaged
Today, we're sharing one of our favorite family activities that gets everyone engaged: family tag! It's totally doable to play as a group – no matter the age of your players – with zones setup to help keep everyone engaged. Physical play helps kids think creatively and forge strong connections with each other by learning to share, negotiate, resolve conflicts and develop self-advocacy skills.
Simple Rules of Play
Zone tag is one of our favorite ways to get active play going by getting everyone involved in a game of family tag. It's similar to the traditional game of tag, except it takes it down a notch to level the playing field for little ones. Instead of racing to “tag” each other, participants race to get to various zones.
They say the family that plays together, stays together. What do you do, though, when little ones aren’t big enough to keep up with traditional games? You make up a new set of rules! We altered the old park favorite game of tag to be a little less
aggressive and a little more family-friendly.
- The person who is “it” (the “tagger,” as we call them) shouts out and points to
a zone. It can be a rock, a big tree, slide, swing…any recognizable object. - The tagger and the “taggees” all race to get to that object first.
- Whoever arrives last is the new tagger, who then gets to declare the next
destination. - The whole group takes off simultaneously, starting out by touching the same
object they just arrived at.
Safe Zone
It’s not unusual to have a designated “safe zone” in the game of tag. What makes this version different is that the zone changes each round, and there is no incentive to run at each other or tackle other people. In fact, it’s kind of fun to come in last and be the “tagger” because they get to decide where everyone runs!
Number of Players
This version can be easily played with just two people, and it has the added benefit of giving the tagger a slight advantage in getting to the next destination so there tends to be more turnover in being the “tagger” versus being the “taggee.” It’s easier and more fun for young children, who often get stuck being “it” indefinitely in the traditional version of tag. This is a good family fitness activity for all ages, helping kids stretch their legs and offering plenty of burst exercise for mom and dad.
Down Time
With spurts of activity, it gets the kids' energy out and provides mom and dad with plenty of burst training. I also like that it allows for a bit of down time in between spurts of running, offering up a good opportunity to connect with the kids and check-in to make sure they're having fun.
Exploration with Family Tag
This family fitness activity also offers plenty of exploration opportunities, as you can designate zones ranging from slides to swings, trees, rocks and more. Family tag can be played almost anywhere!
Do you play family tag?