Since the pandemic has started, I found myself sitting at the computer in my home office for an extended period every day. Sometimes I don’t get up for as long as three hours! 

Working from home surely has its benefits. For one, you no longer need to get up early and worry about catching a train. For two, you can wear whatever clothes you like. Thanks to online conference calls! No more in-person meetings needed. 

But the sedentary lifestyle is definitely taking a toll on our health. I started having back pain and a sore neck more often. That’s when my wife assigned me a “perfect” task - watching our daughter after the lunch break. 

Like all other toddlers, my one-year-old has lots of energies. If she is not running around opening all our kitchen cabinets, she will be climbing the sofa searching for the remote controls (her favorite toy). 

“We should put these energies into some good use!” I thought to myself. That’s why I decided to find activities to make her playtime more productive while giving myself a chance to stay active.  

After some research and going through some trial-and-errors to see what works, I’ve found some super efficient ways to achieve that goal.

 

Take your toddler for a spin on a tricycle

My daughter loves to be outdoors. As much as I like to take her to our backyard, holding her in my arms for half-hour is truly a challenge for me. Because eventually I get tired and she gets bored. That’s why I bought her a 4-in-1 tricycle so that she can explore on her own. 

Don’t get me wrong. My daughter is not a super baby who can ride a bike at her 12th month. What we got her is a multi-stage tricycle that is designed for babies as young as 9-month-old.  

After lunch time, I would take her to the backyard and let her stay in the trike. Since the pedal and steering wheel is locked, I would push her and steer the bike for her.  

My daughter loves her newly gained freedom. Since the bike is low to the ground, she is able to see the flowers and bushes. Occasionally, she would grab a flower in her palm and give it to me (shhh, don’t tell my wife).  

Now that my daughter seems to have gotten a hang of using the bike, I am thinking about taking off the footrest so that she can start learning to pedal. 

What I enjoy the most is being able to jog while pushing the bike. For me, it’s a great chance to do some light exercise. This is much more fun than running laps in the backyard.

 

Let your toddler practice walking with a push toy

Most children start to stand up without any assistance by the age of one. Many of them are also able to cruise along furniture such as a sofa or a bed.  

When my daughter realized that she could walk, she was relentlessly practicing this new skill. I found a stand-up push walker for her so that she can lean on the toy while gaining her balance. 

It is such a joy to see your child’s proud face when she learns to walk. My daughter always turns her head and asks for my acknowledgement when she is able to push the walker around in the living room. We mostly stayed in the living room because the carpet gives some resistance to the push walker to control the speed. 

While my child is practicing walking, I usually take the time to jog. What I like to do is to stand in front of her and encourage her to come towards me.  

When she pushes the walker successfully, I will clap my hands and jump up and down to tell her “Well done!” 

Believe it or not, I usually take around 2000 steps in half an hour by doing that.

 

Toddlers love swings and jumpers

Once a child discovers new ways to use their legs, they will surprise you with their tremendous passion and energy to practice the new skills.  

There are two things my daughter loves a lot - swings and jumpers. During the summer, we were lucky to bring her outside to the community park so that she could use the swing. But now the winter is coming, we rarely get a chance to go out. 

That’s why I got an indoor swing and a jolly jumper so that she can still use them in the house. 

Of course, while she is laughing and waving her arms with joy, I was not just standing there watching. I would do some real workout: jumping jacks. 

 

Install an indoor playground

I know that most indoor playgrounds are meant for kids older than 3-years. But my friend got one for her two-year-old son and he loved it! So we also got one for my daughter hoping that it would help her burn some energy. 

Guess what? The indoor playground became her new favorite right away! I guess the color of this toy is quite attractive to her because she was already eager to try it out while my wife and I were putting it together. 

My daughter’s favorite part of the playground is the slide. However, she is too little to climb on the playground by herself so that I need to lift her up every time. She doesn’t seem to get tired from sliding down over and over again. Well, for me, I think it’s a good alternative to lifting weights because I would be lifting my daughter instead. 

Many dads dread spending time with their infant child or small toddlers because they don’t know what to do. The worst thing is to glue your face to your phone while watching your kids (I admit that I am occasionally a culprit as well). There are so many fun ways to make father-daughter time entertaining and productive. For us, I enjoy every minute with my little bundle of joy while getting the benefit of staying active.