A toddler sports day that gets everyone excited! A collection of fun parent-child game ideas
For one-year-olds, the sports day is their first big event! Even little ones who tend to feel nervous or anxious can enjoy it with peace of mind when they’re with their family.
So, here are some exciting parent-and-child activities you can enjoy together.
We’ve gathered events that let kids transform into popular anime characters or vegetables and that incorporate worlds they love.
There are lots of fun activities that will bring out smiles—even from children who were crying.
Create wonderful memories and fill the whole venue with smiles!
- Let’s get infants and one-year-olds excited at the sports day too! A collection of event ideas for parents and children to enjoy together.
- A toddler sports day that gets everyone excited! A collection of fun parent-child game ideas
- Ideas for indoor play and physical activities recommended for 1-year-olds
- Parent–child interactive play. Fun activities popular in childcare settings and at parent–child observation days.
- Fun Parent-Child Games! A Collection of Ideas to Liven Up Your Nursery School Sports Day
- Parent-Child Events for Sports Day: Recommended Ideas for Nurseries and Kindergartens
- Perfect for Sports Day! Obstacle Course Ideas Recommended for 2-Year-Olds
- [Parent-Child Rec] Recreational activities and games for parents and children to enjoy together—also great for sports days.
- [For Preschoolers] Get Fired Up at the Sports Day! Fun Parent-Child Activity Ideas That Everyone Will Enjoy
- [Sports Day] Let's Become Olympic Athletes! Parent-Child Events for 2-Year-Olds
- For the daycare’s sports day! Fun and unique event ideas
- [Childcare] Recommended circuit competition ideas for a sports day for 2-year-olds
- [Childcare] Sports Day activity ideas. Let’s make the Sports Day exciting!
Footrace / Race Events (1–10)
Parent-child race (footrace)
At children’s sports days, one of the classic events is the parent-child race.
You’ve probably seen it: over a distance of about 30 meters, a guardian guides their child toward the finish line.
It’s very simple, right? But because it’s so simple, some kids get bored, and some end up in tears—so it can be quite a handful.
Even so, it’s also the event where you can most clearly feel a child’s growth.
Please consider taking part, as long as it’s within a range that doesn’t push your child too hard.
Hide-and-seek and tag
As the name suggests, Hide-and-Seek Sprint is a competition that combines hide-and-seek with a footrace.
First, the children hide inside cardboard boxes.
When the start signal is given, the parents look for the box their child is in.
Once they find them, they give their child a piggyback and head for the finish line together.
You can also adapt the piggyback section to a three-legged race, crawling, and so on.
It could be fun to make the hiding boxes together beforehand, too.
Aiming for the finish line as a team is sure to strengthen your bond!
Cart-pulling relay
The basket-pulling relay, recommended as a parent-participation event, is one of the classic sports day activities at many preschools.
It’s especially great for one-year-olds who can’t quite run yet—riding in a box and being pulled by a parent lets them feel the thrill as if they’re running themselves.
Even with simple rules—head toward the cone, turn around, and come back—it takes a good amount of energy.
Kids may feel the exhilaration of running, while parents might feel like they’ve run a long distance! It’s a super fun event, so give it a try.
Footraces and racing events (11–20)
playing horsey
Incorporating Olympic equestrian events into a school sports day’s parent–child activities might seem difficult, but if the parent gets down on all fours as the “horse” and the child rides on their back, it instantly transforms into a proper equestrian event! You can adjust the difficulty by adding various obstacles along the course.
If you do it outdoors, using mats can enhance safety and reduce strain on the parent’s knees.
Wearing a horse mask or having the child wear a helmet can make it feel more realistic and safer as well.
piggyback race
The “piggyback race,” where parents run while carrying their child on their back and aim for the finish line.
Even if you’re used to carrying your child and have a sense of their weight, running is a whole different story.
Even fast runners need to think about balance so they don’t drop their child while running.
Hold them securely on your back and head for the goal as quickly as you can! If you don’t push yourself, your child might be disappointed after you finish.
Make sure your child holds on tight, too!
Sushi Picnic
This is a parent-child activity.
You and your child transform into the sushi written on a card, and then the child crosses a balance beam to the finish.
To transform into sushi, the child wears the sushi topping shown on the card on their back like a backpack, and the parent gives the child a piggyback ride.
After going around a cone once, cross the balance beam.
This activity includes multiple elements: searching for your assigned sushi topping, parent-child bonding through piggybacking, and measuring physical ability on the balance beam.
Give it a try!
Uber Eats
Hold hands with a guardian dressed up as an Uber Eats courier and deliver delicious food! No hill or staircase is too tough.
Be careful not to fall off the path and go pick up the ordered food.
You can carry it in a backpack, or deliver it as is.
Once you deliver the food, you’ve reached the goal.
If there’s someone at the goal to receive the food, you might be able to work even harder on your delivery.
Wishing you a fun and exciting sports day!