6 fun and sporty activities to keep your kids moving this summer.

I love warmer weather. It’s so easy to get dressed – a sundress and some thongs – and there’s so much to do every day. You just throw open the door and off you go.

Unless it’s too hot. Then the dress starts sticking to your sweaty skin and the kids get a bit stinky, and cranky, and hard to entertain.

That’s when you have to put your thinking cap on and come up with some ways to keep the kids active, without them sweltering in the stifling heat.

1. Ice-skating.

Forget rollerblading or skateboarding when the weather reaches 35-plus degrees. Instead, head to your local ice-skating rink… there are still plenty of them around.

The kids probably won’t let you rug them up until you get there so just grab a few warm hoodies and throw them over whatever they were wearing once you get there. Then grab everyone an icy drink from the ice-skating rink canteen to sip on the way home.

Head on down to your local ice rink. Image: iStock.

2. Beach.

A day out at the beach is so much fun but not in peak heat. We tend to head out mega-early and leave by mid-morning. That often means the water is too cold to hop right in. So we stock up on beach toys and play in the sand until the water warms up.

Even my 12-year-old still loves playing in the sand with his little brother and sister and hunting around for the odd sea shell. When the water has had time to warm up, the kids love to jump in and splash around with their towable boards, taking turns to be pulled around by the others.

Who doesn't love the beach? Image: rebel

3. Backyard water fights.

It’s so fun to just throw open the door to the backyard and let the kids run out and play, but for those who don’t own a backyard pool it can be hard to keep them cool. It’s probably not the safest option to let them use the hose on the trampoline and I have told them several times to stop doing that.

Their next favourite choice is to use those new water balloon contraptions that blow heaps up at once. They’re thrilled with them and it’s better than risking injury on a slippery trampoline.

If you've got water, you've got an activity. Image: rebel

4. Indoor netball/soccer.

My kids normally play an indoor sports season during the warmer months with netball and soccer the best options. I love it because the indoor sports centre we go to has a café and is fully air-conditioned. It’s so great to keep the kids active over the warmer months and participating in a team sport.

5. Indoor trampoline centre.

We love going to indoor trampoline centres and I’ll normally join in too. It’s really hard work, jumping on all those trampolines.

We’re always exhausted afterwards and so, so thirsty. A great tip is to half-freeze their water bottles the night before. Then you just top them up with more water and you all have icy cold water to enjoy that you don’t have to wait to unfreeze before you get to have a sip.

A great one for you to join in too. Image: iStock.

6. Swimvac.

I’ve started booking the kids into swimming lessons during the school holidays in the warmer months. They advance so much doing swimming each day for a week and it’s so affordable.

Swimming is a great thing to be able to do your whole life. Image: rebel

Whenever I tell the kids I’ve booked them into Swimvac for a week each school holidays they grumble and groan but then as the day gets hotter they really look forward to it. We seem to lose a lot of pairs of googles during Swimvac though. They are probably in a pile somewhere; with all those random socks we keep losing.

How do you keep your kids active during summer?