Social distance games outside for kids – and adults!
Want the kids to play outside – possibly with a small group of friends – but need to adhere to social distancing? Here are five social distance games for outside you can play in small family groups, without getting close to each other. Great for kids, but fun for adults too. My family love these games, whether we’re keeping our social distance or not!
Hungry Hippos
Remember the old Hasbro game, Hungry Hippos? You can play a REALLY fun version of this outside, whilst keeping a good social distance from others. This is a team game, so you need at least two players in each team – i.e. two family members who can touch each other. So maybe two kids from your family might play two kids from another family.
You need:
Three objects per team. ANY objects! Shoes. A water bottle. A phone. Socks. Anything small that you can pick up with one hand.
It works like this. Each team lays their three objects about 1-2 metres away. Work this out so each team keeps their distance from each other.
Then it’s a wheelbarrow race … ready, steady go!
One kid / adult, picks up the other kid/adult by the ankles. Then they wheelbarrow them on their hands towards the objects. The wheelbarrow person picks up ONE object (just one at a time), then walks them back to the start position and drops it. Then they wheel forward again and pick up the other two (still one at a time!).
Whoever returns all three objects to the start position wins. (You might want to mark the start position with an item of clothing or similar).
Bootcamp
Are you tough enough? Who has the best endurance? Arrange yourself into family teams, or two kids from two different families can play each other. Who can outlast the other on the following exercises? If you’re playing one family against another, the winning family is the one with the last member still standing!
Plank
Lie flat, propped up on the elbows, body off the floor and balancing on tip-toes. Go! Who will give up first?
One leg, eyes closed
Tricky one this! Stand on one leg with your eyes closed. Who can stay standing the longest?
Squat hold
Squat really low and hold it. Hold it! Don’t cheat and do it too high! Who can keep going?
Arms held out to the sides
Who can keep their arms held out to the side, without letting them drop?
Wacky Races
You need a bit of space for this, like an open field. Enough space for two metre distance per racer. And then let the races commence! You have to complete the following series of races:
Crawling race
Racing on your hands and feet. No – you can’t use your knees or elbows!
Hopping race
Hop on one leg
Jumping race
Jumping with two feet at once
Balance on head race
You have to balance a small object on your head – a sock or similar
These games will have you laughing, having fun and enjoying yourselves without getting too close to anyone. Our family loves these games. And if you’re a parent and looking for more of a laugh, you might want to try my new book, the Bad Mother’s Virus – free on Kindle Unlimited.
Suzy K Quinn is the author of coronavirus funny fiction, the Bad Mother’s Virus.
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