For infants, toddlers and preschoolers

Being active

In every 24 hours, all babies and young kids benefit from a mixture of physical activity and inactivity. Young children are mainly active through unstructured play.

Children at this age love to move around and explore their environment. They should be more active because of it:

• Maintaining a healthy body weight is possible.
• Build strong bones and muscles
• Improve your coordination, balance, and movement skills
• Promote mental, emotional, and Social well-being
• Promote better learning and thought
• reduce injuries.

Parents and caregivers should encourage and support children to be physically active to make them healthier, happier, stronger, and smarter. As children develop and grow, they should strive to:

• Spending more time playing active games
• Spending less time sitting
• Getting enough sleep every day.

Allow your child to be creative and encourage them to take appropriate risks while being supervised. You could walk along a low-rise wall, build a cubbyhouse with branches, or climb a low-rise tree.

Active parents and caregivers can be role models for their kids. You can read our guidelines on physical activity for adults.

For Infants (from birth to 12 months old)

Babies should be active in different ways several times per day, even before they can walk. You can do this by:

• The more interactive floor-based play that is supervised, the better
• At least 30 minutes of tummy time per day while awake. This includes moving the arms and legs.
• Reaching and grasping for an object.

Once they have moved, you can reach them through:

• You can easily create obstacle courses to help them crawl.
• Pulling up and standing while holding onto things
• Walking – some cases.

For toddlers (between 1 and 2 years old)

It’s wonderful that toddlers enjoy running around. Toddlers should be encouraged to play more actively.

At least three hours of physical activity per day should be spent on energetic play, as well as other activities. This can be done through:

• Running – ball games, tips, or races in the park
• Create obstacle courses for fun at home or in the park by twirling, jumping, and juggling.
• dancing
• skipping.

It is best to spread out the physical activity throughout the day. Toddlers’ physical activity should be enjoyable and promote exploration and discovery.

For Preschoolers (3-5 years old)

The more active preschoolers are, the better. At least three hours of active play should be done each day. Include 1 hour of energetic activity, such as:

• Running – ball games, tips, or races in the park
• Create obstacle courses in your own home or at the park to have fun kicking, throwing, and jumping.
• dancing
• skipping.

It should be spread out throughout the day. Preschoolers should enjoy physical activity and be encouraged to explore and discover.

Limiting the time spent sitting or restrained

Help your child develop healthy habits and grow up to be happy.

• Limit the amount of time you spend lying or sitting down (Sedentary Behavior).
• Avoid screen-based activities
• Spend quiet time with your child reading, telling stories, solving puzzles, or engaging in other activities to support their development.

Early screen time can negatively impact a child’s long-term development. For children aged under 2, we recommend that they do not watch any screen time, and for those between 2-5 years old, no more than one hour per day.

Children who are sedentary for long periods and use screens unsupervised may:

• Develop language skills later
• Attention spans are shorter
• You may be less prepared for school and have a harder time learning to read
• make poorer decisions.

It would be best if you only allowed educational screen time. It means that you should watch with your child and talk about the content. This will help them understand the world.

For Infants (birth to twelve months)

For babies, we recommend:

• Not restraining the child for more than one hour at a given time (e.g., in a high chair, stroller, or car seat).
• No screen time
• Choose educational activities when inactive, such as reading, telling stories, singing, or creating crafts.

For toddlers (between 1 and 2 years old)

We recommend the following for toddlers:

• Not restraining the child for more than one hour at a given time (e.g., in a high chair, stroller, or car seat).
• Limiting the amount of time spent sitting or lying down
• No sedentary screen-time
• Choose educational activities to do while you are inactive. For example, reading, telling stories, singing, solving puzzles, building blocks, or creating crafts.

For Preschoolers (3-5 years old)

For preschoolers, we recommend:

• Not restraining the child for more than one hour at a given time (e.g., in a high chair, stroller, or car seat).
• Limiting the amount of time spent sitting or lying down
• Limiting screen time to no more than one hour per day.
• Choose educational activities to do while you are inactive. For example, reading, telling stories, singing, solving puzzles, building blocks, or creating crafts.

Ensuring good sleep

A healthy child needs to sleep. An active child will be well-rested.

Early on, teach your child good sleep and bedtime habits. You can do this by:

• A calming bedtime ritual
• Setting consistent sleep and waking times
• Avoid screen time before bed
• Keep screens out of your bedroom

For Infants (from birth to 12 months old)

All babies need good sleep, even naps.

• 14-17 hours up to 3 months
• From 4 to 11 months, 12 to 16-hour shifts.

For toddlers (between 1 and 2 years old)

Toddlers require 11-14 hours of sleep per day in good quality, including naps. They also need a consistent schedule for sleep and waking up.

For Preschoolers (3-5 years old)

Preschoolers require 10 to 13 good-quality hours of sleep per day. They also need consistent wake-up and sleep times. Even at this age, some children need to nap.