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Indoor ball games you can play with your kids

Jennifer Passmore
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When you are stuck inside the house, many kids think it can be no fun at all. But it is the exact opposite! There are plenty of things that can be played in the house. Even playing ball; who knew? So many moms when we were little told us not to play ball inside the house. However, there are plenty of games that you can play with balls inside the house without fear of breaking any vases or knocking over any lamps! Here are some of our favorite indoor ball games that you can play inside with your children.

Indoor bowling

All you need for this fun and classic game are some paper or plastic cups to set up and knock down, and a ball big enough and just slightly heavy enough to allow its weight to knock the cups over. The great thing about this game is that you do not have to set up the cups perfectly or in any specific order. Be creative and try out different formations for the cups! Have one person rolling the ball, and another person setting up the “pins.” Then, switch it around so everyone gets an even chance.

Multicolored tabletop tennis balls
Ellen Qin/Unsplash

Tabletop battle

This game uses Ping-Pong balls and straws, as well as a cup and a place to play; a coffee table would be ideal. Tape the cup to the table at one end, and give each child a straw. Place the Ping-Pong ball on the table, and the children, using their breath, are to blow the ball into the cup. It is a fun game because the kids will be battling each other to try to keep each other’s ball away from the cup! They want to be the first one to get the ball in there.

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Milk jug catch

Save some extra milk jugs for this fun indoor game! Cut two of them in half, and make sure the edges aren’t sharp. If they are, use some duct tape to put around the edges, and that will eliminate the sharpness. The point of this game is to take a ball, put it into the milk jug (make sure it is a light plastic ball, nothing too heavy that will break anything), and toss the ball up into the air, and the other person is meant to catch it with their milk jug. This goes back and forth until a winner is declared (which is entirely up to the kids or you).

Soccer ball on a wooden shelf
Aphiwat Chuangchoem / Pexels

Indoor soccer

Believe it or not, you can play indoor soccer games inside your house! Using clothes baskets as goals, you can use a lightweight ball where the kids won’t be able to knock it into anything and break it. Then, they can go at it and kick the ball back and forth and try to get it into one of the goals! They will have hours of fun with this game, kicking the ball back and forth, trying to get the ball into their opponent’s goal. Just make sure that there is enough open space for them to do this.

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Indoor kickball

Indoor kickball is also another fun game that the kids can play! Again, it bears repeating that using a lightweight ball that won’t knock anything over is best. You should use a room that has enough space or be able to move furniture out of the way in order for the kids to be able to play. If you have more than two kids playing, you definitely want to make sure that they have enough room to play. They will love that they can play this in the house, especially if it is a rainy day outside!

Cardboard box basketball

This is a super-fun and super-easy game to put together. Just save a large box from one of your online orders, and you now have a basket. Using small plastic balls, the kids can try to score a basket by tossing it into the box. They can challenge themselves by standing farther back from the net (box) and see how far they can be while still scoring a basket! This is good game for little ones, too! They will love tossing balls into the box.

Whatever game you choose to play, your children will love playing them, especially because they are in the house and not outside! They will enjoy the freedom that they have to play around inside the house.

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Jennifer Passmore
Jennifer Passmore
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jennifer has written two books on how to deal with living with chronic illness using the power of positivity. She has written…
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