![[Sports Day] Let's Become Olympic Athletes! Parent-Child Events for 2-Year-Olds](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/Kki6-vRdbkw/maxresdefault.webp)
[Sports Day] Let's Become Olympic Athletes! Parent-Child Events for 2-Year-Olds
How about incorporating Olympic events into your sports day?
Here, we’re sharing ideas for parent-child events themed around the Olympics, designed for 2-year-olds.
There are lots of simple races and games you can enjoy together.
Through play, children can discover the fun of exercise and learn the importance of cooperating with friends and parents.
Let’s create a wonderful sports day filled with smiles, where parents and children cheer each other on!
Enjoy a great time with events that capture the excitement of the Olympics!
[Sports Day] Let's Become Olympic Athletes! Parent-Child Events for 2-Year-Olds (1–10)
Go for the gold medal!
Speaking of the Olympics, the moment when a gold medal is awarded on the podium is one that excites all of Japan! Let me introduce “Aim for the Gold Medal,” a sports day event inspired by those medals that parents and young children can enjoy together.
After overcoming light obstacles like hula hoops, you’ll find rows of shining gold medals waiting! It’s a parent-child event where you work together to win a gold medal.
The medals kids earn by running on their own sparkle brightly, and they’re absolutely thrilled! If you’re looking for an Olympic-themed activity for parents and children, be sure to check this out.
triathlon
A triathlon is a competition that combines biking, swimming, and running.
It’s arguably one of the most grueling events in the Olympics.
Why not adapt that triathlon into a parent-child event for a school sports day? Use tricycles for the bike leg, run for the run leg, and for the swim, crawl under decorations that represent water to reach the finish! It’s a slightly simplified event for two-year-olds, but parents and children can still get that triathlon feeling.
You might also try adding challenges—like placing a vaulting box on the running course—to raise the difficulty a bit.
Olympic torch relay
The Olympic torch relay is one of the main highlights of the Games, and many people probably dream of taking part.
We’ve adapted that torch relay into a parent-child event for a school sports day! Make the torch and the flame separately as crafts and have the torch ready to go.
The parent and child run together while holding the torch, but since the torch and the flame are separate, the key is to keep your balance so the flame doesn’t fall off.
You could even make it a bit more challenging—and more fun—by having the parent and child wear a single oversized pair of pants while doing the torch relay.
Traveling by train
During the Olympic period, venues overflow with spectators from many countries who are excited to soak up the travel vibe.
Inspired by the Olympics, here’s a parent-child field day event called “Travel by Train” that lets you feel like you’re journeying around the world on everyone’s favorite trains.
Ride in a cardboard train, overcome obstacles like vaulting boxes and hula hoops, and if you can match the character panels at the end, you’ve reached the goal! In the video, a child does it alone, but if you make a bigger train that a parent and child can ride together, it can be enjoyed as a parent-child event too!
Dance ‘GO! GO! Gold Medal!’
How about the parent–child dance “GO! GO! Gold Medal” as a parent–child event for your sports day, where you can enjoy exercising regardless of winning or losing? While holding a handmade “Go-Go Ring” together, you and your child can run, jump, and throw, having lots of fun being active! It’s a great chance for kids to have plenty of contact with their guardians, and it might be just the right amount of exercise for parents who don’t usually work out.
It’s perfect for boosting awareness and motivation during the Olympic season—and even when it’s not.
Kicking Sniper
How about incorporating a “Kicking Sniper” event, modeled after soccer—one of the Olympic sports? In this game, you kick a ball at targets, and the person who knocks down the most wins.
You can use softer balls suited to the participants’ ages, and making the targets popular characters could add extra fun.
For infants, you might intentionally place the targets in an unstable way so they topple easily, while for preschoolers, adding mechanisms that make the targets move would make it even more exciting.
Give it a try together as a parent-child team!
Handmade-style side dish
Here’s a recommended parent-child event for a sports day: a water-gun target game.
It’s a simple activity where you use water guns to hit targets with water.
If the targets are crafts made by the children, it makes the activity even more special.
When hanging the targets, you can use calligraphy paper or tissues for the hanging part so that the water knocks them down, and participants can win the prize that falls.
Another fun idea is to have parents act as the targets and try to escape their children’s water-gun attacks! If your sports day is held off-site, consider adding this to your program.