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With modern day luxuries like air conditioning, the internet and streaming services, it can be difficult convincing kids to put their screens away and play outside during a hot summer day. While simple joys like riding bikes or heading to a nearby pond to fish are timeless, adventure also awaits right in your own backyard.
For kids under 10, a swing set is a great way to get some exercise, catch a summer breeze, and host endless creative games. Add monkey bars and a slide for some serious fun. A platform can become the neighborhood clubhouse for the summer. Put a bucket on a pulley so you can send up lemonade while they are hashing out club rules and roles. If you don’t want to invest in an entire treehouse or jungle gym, string up a swing or two beneath your deck or from a sturdy tree limb. Just be sure to use the correct weight for max *working* load and check the ropes at least once a year to make sure they are secure and not fraying. Set up a simple camping tent in the yard to serve as a clubhouse and toss a few toys inside.
Kids love to dig. A sandbox is one of the easier things to DIY on the cheap. Use cedar fence posts to keep pests away, and you’ll have fewer cuts to make. Add toy construction trucks, a few different size buckets, and old kitchen utensils. Old pie tins are fun to make creative “pies” with, just fill with wet sand and make fork-fluted edges and other neat patterns. A water table nearby helps keep the sand wet enough to use for castles, too.
Bouncing Some Summer Days Away
A trampoline is an excellent investment. “We just replaced our 10-year-old trampoline, even though our kids are grown, because they still love hanging out on it when friends come over,” says Tina Lee, Blacksburg mom of two. Trampolines are a great place to have a family campout in the backyard. String firefly lights around the outside of it for nighttime hangouts and create a super cool spot to stargaze.
Rebounding is also all the rage, and who doesn’t love bouncing? It’s a great way to get the wiggles out. A NASA study determined that “10 minutes of jumping on a trampoline can be equivalent to a 30-minute run — in terms of cardiovascular benefits and calorie burn.” It’s low impact and great for the lymphatic system. Make sure to get one with a net enclosure for safety. Dogs will even sneak onto the trampoline for an occasional bouncing sesh if there is a ladder out for them!
If the weather gets unbearably hot you can easily turn the trampoline into a slip n’ slide with a garden hose and some dish soap! A large black tarp can make an epic slip n’ slide where many kids can go at once, but as with all slip n’ slides, the ending can be rough if you wind up in the grass. Investing in a proper setup with water at the end and an inflatable bumper can make all the difference. A “crazy hose” is super fun for its unpredictable spraying pattern. Kids can take turns trying to run across without getting soaked — and your lawn gets watered, too. Splash pads are available, and their water sprayers hook up to a garden hose. The pad itself fills with a few inches of water so kids can squirm around without getting itchy from the grass.
More Water Excitement
Do not discount the idea of a simple steel-framed above-ground pool. For under $500, kids can splash all summer long. Throw in some syringe-style water guns (the plastic guns break too easily and are annoying to refill in the heat of a battle) and a few noodles and floaties. “We strategically placed the pool right next to the deck, so I can keep an eye on things from my lounge chair while the kids are out there doing cannonballs until it’s time for lunch!” says Amy Reynolds, who admits she went a little longer than suggested before adding chemicals, but no one got sick thankfully.
Be prepared if there is a cold snap or an ice storm during winter and a subsequent power outage. The pool motor may inadvertently cut off and the pool may freeze and develop cracks. An inflatable water park/slide could be a better choice for kids under 12.
Reusable water balloons are a new trend gaining popularity. They are super easy to fill, and there is no mess to clean up. They are a cool sensory experience as well. And, of course, a bubble machine and a JBL speaker can turn any normal summer day into a party!
Text by Emily Alberts
Emily K. Alberts loves seeing the creative games her kids come up with to entertain themselves during summer. Nerf guns bullets outfitted with toothpicks to pop balloons pinned to the tops of their hats was an all-time favorite. Safety gear was an absolute necessity.
