On the glistening shores of Southern California where I live, there is no shortage of trim, athletic kids.  Every kid over three seems to own a boogie board.  Beach-town streets are dotted with skateboarding teenagers.  High schools have track, volleyball, and surf teams, and preschools offer tumbling, cheer, and yoga classes.  
Fitness is a priority, and residents are blessed with enough sun and sweet ocean breezes to keep outdoor activities comfortable year-round.  Yet even here, there are times when pouring rain and cold winds keep kids indoors and the temptation to couch-potato-out may take hold if parents are not prepared with healthy alternatives to hours of cartoons and video games.

For boogie boarders, skaters, and surfers, balance boards offer indoor fun in only a few square feet of space.  Whether kids are novices or hardcore board addicts, a wide variety of selections offer a fit for their skills.  Brightly-colored round hard plastic boards specially designed for the little ones are well-suited for children's small feet and growing balance skills.  Weplay, for example, creates boards with mazes that kids can roll a ball through by rocking back and forth on the board -- a great way to gradually learn balance and have a rewarding experience.  At the other end of the spectrum, Vew-Do offers boards endorsed by snowboarding Olympic Gold Medalist Ross Powers -- "My Vew-Do Balance Board helped me with every aspect of my snowboarding..."  (Check out Vew-Do Boards in video action on YouTube here -- http://www.youtube.com/watch v=dBdcbIVzaGY.)

If ball sports are their thing, kids can keep passing, shooting, and pitching arms fresh with a Fold-A-Hoop basketball game that stores in a
compact, wall-mounted cabinet and, as the name would indicate, folds out for play.  The Little Tikes NBA Just Like the Pros Basketball Set for younger kids is small enough to set up inside a garage, and a simple game of darts for older kids can always help hone hand-eye coordination.  For those who love soccer, an innovative Scoot-N-Shoot Soccer game made by Diggin comes with a "ball" that is flat on one side, designed to slide rather than roll, and has an ultra-low profile goal.  The ball's superskid base keeps it low and helps kids focus on dribbling the ball into the goal.

For kids who are not really into sports, innovative toys like the Bilibo (http://www.bilibo.com/en/intro/default.aspx), Plasma Car
(http://www.plasmacar.com/store/customer/index.php), and Orbit Wheel Skates (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwz8SNvO8w0) may prove tempting enough to lure them off the couch.  The Bilibo is designed in Sweden, with modern minimalist style.  It leaves much to children's imaginations, and can be used as many things from spinning seat to helmet to drum.  The Plasma Car is fun for kids young and old.  It is a kid-powered vehicle that moves by harnessing the natural forces of inertia, centrifugal force, gravity, and friction.  The only things it needs to go are a driver and a smooth flat surface.  Orbit Wheel Skates debuted at this year's New York Toy Fair and are akin to a cross between rollerblades and a skateboard -- something you just have to see to believe.

Whatever the choice, whether innovative or classic, the right toy can help turn a couch potato into a fitness nut.