Indoor Bowling – A Fun Game That Enhances Your Child’s Motor Skills

When you think of physical games that you can introduce to your child, you might have to consider multiple aspects before you make the choice and allow them to involve themselves in the sport or game. Because, besides having fun, you need to also ensure that your child engages in learning through games. 

Keeping that in mind, these are a few questions that may cross your mind. Does the game improve motor skills and focus on your child? Do they become healthier and fitter after playing the game for a considerable amount of time?

Here is a game that checks all the above-mentioned boxes: Indoor bowling. 

It can be played by kids of all ages (and even adults too!). With the help of this fame, children can learn to focus better, become better at math,  strengthen muscle groups and also pick up some life skills like teamwork, confidence and resilience.

What do you need?

• Ten skittles (or) ten empty plastic bottles ( 300-500 ml preferred)
• A bowling ball (or) any big ball that can topple the skittles

How to play?

• Arrange the skittles in the way shown in the picture below.

• Now make your child stand at a distance (around 5 meters) away from the arranged skittles.
• Ask your child to pick up the bowling ball and run towards the skittles until the distance is around 2-3 meters. 

• Let your child release the ball on the ground, so that it rolls towards the skittles or the empty bottles.
• Encourage your child to knock as many bottles as possible and try several times until all bottles are knocked off.
• For more than one kid, you can keep track of the number of bottles that each child knocks down in a single attempt or track the number of attempts they take to knock all the bowling pins down. It makes indoor bowling competitive as well as an interesting game.

Your child can team up with other children to make the game interesting

You can make it interesting by conceptualising a ‘bowling league’, similar to the Indian Premier League. You can draw up teams of children and conduct regular bowling tournaments to keep the excitement intact.

How does your child benefit mentally?

Social skills

Bowling may be considered a personal game, but your child can bond with your friends as you take turns to roll the ball. When a group of children play the game as a team sport, indoor bowling can foster friendships and also teach children teamwork skills.

Maths

Bowling is a physically-stimulating game. However, it can also sharpen the math counting skills of kids  in every game.  Children can learn to work out how many pins they need to knock out and calculate their own totals. Learning addition and designing strategies to win can be made so fun!

Perseverance

Indoor bowling gives multiple chances to the child to ensure that all the 10 pins are knocked down. Naturally, as children try their best to knock off all the pins, they learn to keep trying until they achieve their target.

The child tries several times before he/she succeeds.

How does your child benefit physically?

Coordination

Bowling requires a great deal of hand-leg-eye coordination. Players have to use their arms and legs at the same time, while focusing on the skittles that they have to knock down. Regular bowling fosters effective communication between your child’s brain and body. It builds motor planning skills that help children succeed in school and in sports.

Muscle development

The very act of bowling – picking up the ball and rolling it down – builds muscle groups in your child’s arms and legs. Building those muscles helps children  improve other skills such as running and throwing.

Bowling is not only an engaging activity, but it also ensures that your child learns crucial life skills. Go ahead and try out the game with your child and let us know in the comments  how enthusiastic they were to play.