Adding physical activity to a city-dwelling toddler's life

Motor Skills   |   Age: 2 years 7 months

Adding physical activity to a city-dwelling toddler's life

Is your baby a city kid? Like any other environment, living in the city creates a trade-off for the families who live there. And while city-dwelling toddlers may have great access to museums, attractions, and activities around every corner, they also may have fewer chances to tumble around a backyard, climb small trees, or generally do the kind of exploring of the natural world that children who grow up in other places might.

Benefits of exercising

This means that city-dwelling toddlers (and their families) may need to make a little extra effort to make sure tots are getting the exercise they need. After all, city streets aren’t always the best place to experiment with a new tricycle. Maybe your baby seems like she’s always in motion anyway, but toddlers need more exercise than adults or even older children do. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, toddlers shouldn’t be still for longer than an hour at a time. Toddlers should also get at least an hour of unstructured exercise in a day, and at least half an hour of structured physical activity, which might include games, classes, or other adult-directed activities.

More than that, children who are physically active, especially in ways that are deeply intertwined in their day-to-day lives, like walking to get somewhere, has been linked to increased concentration and academic success. And what parent hasn’t wished once in a while for their toddler to just focus a little more?

Adding in a little extra exercise

Parents of city toddlers may need to be a little more creative to let their little ones get some of that energy out, but there are plenty of ways to make sure cosmopolitan toddlers move around as much as any other tots.

If there are only so many times you want to go to the playground in a week, consider having your baby use some of that energy in a different way.

your baby probably also lets you know exactly which ways she does and doesn’t want to stretch her legs, arms, and other body parts. There’s nothing wrong with encouraging her to try something new, though! 


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2 years 7 months

your baby is entering the phase in her life where the milestones she meets may have as much to do with her opportunities and interests as with where she is developmentally.

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