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Sidewalk Games for Children

In a society where childhood obesity rates have doubled in the past 20 years and children spend an average of seven hours per day in front of electronic entertainment, traditional outdoor play such as sidewalk games are one way families can be more active and spend quality time together. Sidewalk games and other outdoor activities help children become more fit, increasing their vitamin D intake and reducing their risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as lowering their stress and helping them achieve higher scores in academics. Sidewalk games require various amounts of athleticism and creativity, but most are suitable for a wide range of age groups and ability levels.

Fox and Geese
- The game of Fox and Geese takes a twist on the traditional game of tag. Use chalk to draw a large circle on the sidewalk or pavement, and divide the circle into pie-shaped wedges. One child, playing the fox, stands in the center, while the other children, the "geese," choose other places within the circle. While running only on the lines, the "fox" must tag one of the geese, while the geese are forbidden from leaving the circle. A tagged child becomes the next "fox" in the game.
Red Light, Green Light
- In this leader-based running game, one child is designated as the traffic light and stands at the designated finish line, with his back to the other children, who line up at the starting line. The child playing the traffic light shouts out "green light" as a signal for the children to begin running toward the finish line, and "red light" to indicate that they must stop. After giving the signal to stop, the child playing the traffic light spins, and anyone she sees who is still moving must return to the starting line. The first child to reach the finish line wins, and becomes the new "traffic light" for the next round of the game.
Kick the Can
- Designate a square of sidewalk as the "home" square, and place an empty can inside of it. Everyone but the child who is "it" must then hide, much like in a game of hide-and-seek, while "it" counts to 100. The child who is "it" calls out who he sees and where, and they must move to the home square, imprisoned until either there are no more children remaining, or one of the "free" children can make it to the home square and kick the can out of the square to free the others, who may then hide again.
Four Square
- Use sidewalk chalk to draw out a large square divided into four smaller squares of equal size. One child stands in each square, and attempts to hit a ball into an opposing players square. The ball may not be caught or held, and may not strike any lines of the court, but must land squarely in a player's square before that player hits it to send it to another square. If a player hits a line or hits the ball out-of-bounds, she is eliminated from the game.

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