By Amy Fowler
The summer holidays are coming. If you don’t want your kids to spend all day, every day, in front of the computer, then why not make your garden a fun place to be by investing in some garden toys for children? You can turn your garden into a swimming pool, an activity gym, a castle, or a racetrack with some carefully selected toys and a little imagination.
Choosing garden toys for children
When you’re selecting garden toys for children, your first priorities should be safety and durability. If you are looking at inflatable toys, make sure that you check that the inflatable toys are easy enough to tether securely. There have been many preventable accidents thanks to inflatable toys being blown away during high winds.
If you are considering climbing frames, slides, jungle gyms, or other similar garden toys for children, then try to place them on grassy or sandy areas so that there’s at least some cushioning around them. Make sure that the frames are sturdy and that there are no rough edges exposed.
Some of the most popular children’s garden toys are bikes, trikes, and toy cars. If your garden is big enough for these, then they can be used to create whole new worlds for your kids to explore. They could play house and pretend to go driving to the shops, or they could lay out a race track with small cones or bean bags and then race their friends around it. The options are endless.
For smaller gardens, there are other, more traditional toys. Don’t underestimate the popularity of bats and balls, toy garden sets, buckets and spades, and other basics. A small area of the garden could be put aside as a kid’s play area with a small picnic table and a sandbox, and the other toys can be kept nearby. Not only would these simple toys offer endless fun, they’re things that can be used by kids of all ages, and they promote physical activity too. A trike may only fit a child for a couple of years, but a football or tennis set is something that can be enjoyed by everyone from toddler to teenager.
Of course, if you live in a region where the weather is somewhat unpredictable, there will be times when your sandbox gets turned into a swamp by the rain. There’s not much you can do about that unless you want to turn your conservatory into a kid’s play area. However, if you’ve chosen quality toys you should find that they can cope with the rigours of your climate.
An investment in garden toys for children should be treated as exactly that – an investment. Hopefully your child’s summer will be an enjoyable one, where you won’t be hearing constant cries of “I’m bored!” By making your garden an attractive and exciting place to be, you can encourage them to get outside, get some exercise, and enjoy a little nature. Even if it is just a lawn and some flowers, it’s better than a virtual garden in Viva Piñata.
This post was written by Amy Fowler on behalf of The Original Factory Shop. Amy writes on subjects relating to home, families and children and is particularly interested in garden toys for children.
Good idea, even better is just letting them plant some plants or seeds or dig holes and fill them with water. It’s great fun for kids of all ages and let’s them see and feel science all while having alot of fun.