[For Preschoolers] Get Fired Up at the Sports Day! Fun Parent-Child Activity Ideas That Everyone Will Enjoy
Here are some recommended parent-child events for sports day that young children can enjoy together with their guardians! In this collection, you’ll find playful activities that really liven things up, such as hide-and-seek using newspaper, a musical chairs-style game with a large hula hoop, and a ball-toss game featuring a mischievous character.
These events are perfect for first-time participants—easy to join and great for strengthening bonds between children and their guardians.
Find ideas here to create a fun sports day full of smiles and happy memories.
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[Preschoolers] Exciting Sports Day! Fun Parent-Child Event Ideas (1–10)
Go! Go! Go! by Shinkansen!
Recommended for classes that love vehicles! Here are ideas for Shinkansen GO! GO! GO! Many children are likely interested in bullet trains and working vehicles.
How about planning events centered on the Shinkansen this time? Start at a gate where you tap a card.
Seat the child in a cardboard Shinkansen and have their guardian run while pulling or pushing it.
After passing through a “waterfall” made of plastic tape streamers, they receive a souvenir and head to the goal.
If you package the souvenir like a station bento (ekiben), it will add to the excitement.
Give it a try!
Zip along as a parent and child!
Let’s set off on a parent-child journey! Here’s a dance track called “Oyako de Byuun.” In this song, you spread your arms like an airplane and move around, and caregivers can dance while giving children piggyback rides.
At the end, you can lift the children and let them “fly,” and it’s packed with active play that kids will love and beg to do again.
Because it encourages lots of physical contact, it will help strengthen the parent-child bond.
It also sounds fun to dance while asking, “Where are we going?”
Caterpillar Race
Doesn’t a caterpillar race, where you get inside a big tube-like “caterpillar” and aim for the goal, sound like a fun parent-child event? I recommend making the caterpillar out of cardboard—it can be big, and you can draw on it or decorate it however you like.
Before the start, the parent and child get inside the caterpillar and get into a crawling position.
At the signal, move forward on all fours as if you’re crawling.
Depending on the length to the finish line, it might be a bit tough for adults.
[Preschoolers] Get Fired Up at the Sports Day! Fun Parent–Child Event Ideas (11–20)
Clothing change race
A dressing-up race where pants, T-shirts, and other clothes are placed along the course, and participants put on one item at a time as they run toward the finish.
From the start, they run and first put on pants, then a T-shirt, and finally socks, a hat, and so on.
At the finish line, a guardian will be waiting to help them put on the hat or socks, and then they can hold hands and run to the goal together.
It might be fun to add a twist at the end where the guardian also helps put on the socks or hat!
Jungle Guruguru
https://www.tiktok.com/@omiyamichinoko/video/7287176174759972097“Jungle Guruguru” is a dance idea for parents and kids! Stand side by side and have fun doing the same choreography together.
It’s simple yet super cute—shaking your hips, stepping in place while clapping your hands, and more.
You’ll also hold hands and jump together, which will make for some lovely, smile-filled photos.
Enjoy it as if you’re adventuring through a jungle.
If you prepare adventure-appropriate outfits for the kids, it might boost their motivation too.
Fire! Mobilize!
Firefighters and a fire truck heading out to a fire scene.
It’s the kind of event that will surely excite kids who love working vehicles! From the start to boarding the fire truck, the children run while dodging obstacles.
Prepare obstacles appropriate for their age, such as balancing on a beam or crawling through hoops.
Have the parents wait at the fire truck, then board together with the child and head to the fire scene.
If they throw pom-poms—used to represent water—into the target and “extinguish” the fire, they reach the goal.
Making and wearing firefighter hats will make it even more exciting!
Jama-Jama Ball Toss
One of the most exciting events at a sports day is the ball toss.
Let’s try it as a parent–child competition! But instead of doing an ordinary ball toss, here’s a fun twist: the “Jama-Jama Ball Toss.” Split into teams and do a parent–child ball toss, but a mischievous character called Jama-Jama-kun shows up to interfere—getting in the way of your throws or stopping the balls from going in.
It might be just a little frustrating! Even though Jama-Jama-kun is the “opponent,” if you make the character cute, the kids might love it.