A home obstacle course for toddlers can be set up as soon as your baby crawls on all fours, around 10 to 12 months, with two or three cushions to clamber over. At around 18 months, you can add a step to climb, a tunnel and a line on the floor. You don’t need any special equipment or a big room: a firm mat, the sofa cushions and a few everyday objects are enough.
This article sets out the recommended physical activity guidelines for little ones, then a set-up for each age, from commando crawling to balance. It also explains what a course really brings, and how to make it safe without turning your home into a fortress.
Home obstacle course: from what age?
As soon as your child moves around on their own, on all fours or by crawling, usually between 8 and 12 months. Before that, the floor itself is the course: tummy time, rolling over and the first movements all happen on a flat surface, with no obstacles.
In its guidelines of 24 April 2019, the World Health Organization recommends that babies under one be physically active several times a day through interactive floor-based play. For those who are not yet mobile, it adds at least 30 minutes of tummy time a day, spread across their waking periods.
From the age of one, the benchmark changes scale: at least 180 minutes of physical activity of varying intensity, spread throughout the day. An obstacle course isn’t the only way to get there, but it’s a simple one, especially on days when you stay indoors.
What the Canadian report says about toddlers and movement
Naître et grandir, a Quebec parenting organisation, draws on the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines in a report published in its May–June 2022 magazine. From the age of one, a toddler should be active for at least three hours a day. They shouldn’t stay sitting for more than an hour at a time.
The same report lists the benefits observed: endurance, balance and coordination, posture, stronger muscles and bones, and better attention during daily routines and story time. In the first year, it suggests laying out cushions with different textures for your baby to crawl over or around, then, from the age of one, an obstacle course.
Setting up a home obstacle course by age
From 8 to 12 months: over and around
- A firm mat on the floor, big enough for your child to move around without leaving it.
- Two or three flat cushions laid across the path, to crawl over on all fours.
- An appealing toy placed on the other side: that’s the only instruction your baby needs.
- A rolled-up towel for variety: getting over it means lifting a knee.
At this age, the course is mostly about varying points of support and strengthening the core. Our guidance on the period before this is in our article on how long your baby should spend on their tummy each day.
From 13 to 18 months: up, down and underneath
Naître et grandir describes gross motor skills from 13 to 18 months in a fact sheet updated in November 2025 and reviewed by an occupational therapist. Your child walks on different surfaces and bends down to pick up an object without falling. They climb onto armchairs by themselves and get down from their high chair on their own. The course follows these new skills.
- A low, stable step, or a large firm cushion, to climb up and back down.
- A passage under a chair or a coffee table, to crawl through.
- A path of cushions of different heights, to walk on uneven ground.
- A ball to roll into a basket, then pick up again by squatting.
The same fact sheet advises letting your child explore different heights with confidence, in a home that has been made safe. This is the age when climbing becomes more of a need than a whim, as we explain in our article on the age when babies climb on everything.
From 19 to 24 months: running, jumping and balancing
Between 19 and 24 months, according to the Naître et grandir fact sheet updated in November 2025, your child can run and stop, and walk up and down small slopes without falling. They throw a ball upwards and start to jump on the spot while holding an adult’s hands. The fact sheet explicitly suggests setting up an obstacle course to crawl under a chair or over a cushion.
- A cardboard or fabric tunnel, or three chairs in a row, to crawl underneath.
- A line of masking tape on the floor, to follow walking forwards, then sideways, then backwards.
- A little jump from the bottom step, hands held, landing on a thick mat.
- A broom resting on two cushions, to step over.
Jumping with both feet together without help comes later, usually after the age of two. Our guidance on this milestone is in our article on the age when babies jump with both feet.
From 2 to 3 years: linking up and inventing
The guide “31 activités pour bouger avec votre enfant”, published by Naître et grandir in July 2024 with the support of a motor skills consultant and an occupational therapist, describes several games that fit in a living room. “Crossing the lake” involves laying cushions, books, soft toys and clothes on the floor and stepping from one object to the next. “Ball tunnel” lines up three chairs so a ball can be rolled underneath. “Limbo” means getting under a broom without touching the floor with your hands.
At this age, your child can link four or five elements together, name them, and soon suggest their own order. Describing their movements, climbing, jumping, crawling, also gives them the vocabulary of the body.
Do you need to buy soft play shapes?
No, not to begin with. Foam shapes, climbing triangles and low balance beams can be useful, but they take up space and are expensive for something your child will use differently every three months. Cushions, chairs, a step and a firm mat cover their needs until at least the age of two.
The only thing that really changes the course is the floor. A firm, thick enough mat cushions falls from a cushion or a step, insulates against cold tiles and marks out the play area. Our thick 15 mm play mat folds and unfolds to suit the room, and our other sizes are gathered in our selection of baby play mats.
A course can also be set up on a mat designed for movement, whose uses we cover in our article on the baby activity mat.
Safety rules for the course
- An adult within arm’s reach, especially for raised elements, and never a course left set up without supervision.
- Heights no greater than a cushion or a step: under 30 centimetres before the age of two.
- A clear landing area: no table corner, radiator or hard floor at the bottom of any element.
- Stable furniture and padded corners, as Naître et grandir points out.
- No bags, string or small objects: the course is only for movement.
- A child barefoot or in non-slip slippers, never in socks on a wooden floor.
The course is a framework, not a constraint. Your child should be able to leave it, do it again the other way round or stop halfway. That’s the spirit of free movement, whose principle we explain in our article on free movement.
How long, and at what time of day?
Ten to twenty minutes is enough, once or twice a day, at times when your child needs to let off steam: late in the afternoon, before bath time, or on rainy days. What matters is repetition, not duration. A course left up for a few days gets done again spontaneously, which is better than a long session imposed on them.
Outdoors remains the best playground: the Naître et grandir report points out that children move more vigorously outside. The course at home complements outings, it doesn’t replace them. Our guidance on outdoor equipment is in our article on the playground with a baby.
Key takeaways
- From 8 to 12 months with cushions to climb over, from 18 months with a step and a tunnel, from 2 years with sequences.
- A benchmark: at least 180 minutes of activity a day from the age of one, and never more than an hour sitting at a time.
- No special equipment: cushions, chairs, a step and a firm mat.
- Low heights, a clear landing area, an adult within arm’s reach.
Sources
- World Health Organization, “Pour grandir en bonne santé, les enfants doivent moins rester assis et jouer davantage”, 24 April 2019. Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5.
- Naître et grandir, “13 à 18 mois : motricité globale”, scientific review by Josiane Caron Santha, occupational therapist, updated November 2025.
- Naître et grandir, “1 ½ à 2 ans : motricité globale”, scientific review by Josiane Caron Santha, occupational therapist, updated November 2025.
- Naître et grandir, report “Le plaisir d'être actif”, May–June 2022 magazine, based on the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines.
- Naître et grandir, “31 activités pour bouger avec votre enfant”, Julie Leduc, July 2024.
