5 Fun Gifts For Active Kids
As a parent, it’s important that you encourage your children to establish healthy exercise habits early on. Studies have shown that increased physical activity can improve a child’s academic performance and overall mental well-being. Having an active lifestyle also reduces children’s risk of developing diabetes, obesity and heart disease later on in life.
To make sure your children develop healthy habits, you should consider purchasing toys and equipment that promote outdoor play and physical activity.
Here are five fun gifts that you can give active kids.
- Trampolines
Trampolines are a great way to get the kids playing outdoors. Some adults even get a spark of excitement at just the sight of a backyard trampoline. After all, who wouldn’t want to bounce around in the backyard and forget about their worries for an hour or two?
There are plenty of ways to make the trampoline experience fun. You can buy a trampoline with a basketball hoop, play various trampoline games or even turn your trampoline into a cosy garden den. If you’re creative about it, there are countless ways to make use of your trampoline.
If you’re worried about your child getting injured while playing, don’t worry. Nowadays, trampolines are equipped with all kinds of safety equipment such as spring pads, pole pads, nets, anchor kits and so on. These safety features significantly reduce the risk of injuries.
- Bikes
If you’re a parent, chances are, your kids have already asked you for a bike on multiple occasions. While high-end bikes are a little bit of an investment, most people will agree that they’re well worth the price.
Good quality bikes offer a lot of benefits that go beyond just physical health. Biking can improve physical health, which in turn, can improve confidence and emotional wellness. It can also improve your child’s social well-being as they meet more and more kids who are into cycling.
If your child starts biking everywhere they go, they might take this habit into adolescence and adulthood. This is extremely beneficial for the environment as it reduces their use of gasoline-powered vehicles and reduces carbon emissions.
- Basketball hoop
The great thing about a basketball hoop is that it can be installed pretty much anywhere. If you have a large driveway, you can get a portable hoop with its own stand. Portable hoops can be adjusted to suit the height and ability of your child. Of course, when they get older and more serious about basketball, you can adjust the hoop to regulation height.
If you don’t have space for a full-size portable basketball hoop, you can just get a backboard and hoop on their own. This can be placed above a garage door, on the side of the house or even on a big tree. The important thing is to install it away from windows or other parts of your exterior that are fragile. This protects your home from damage and it also protects people from getting hurt due to stray basketballs and shattered glass.
- Ball pit
An outdoor ball pit can help children improve their hand-eye coordination and social skills. In addition, ball pits are also safe for children of all ages. Of course, you have to keep an eye on the younger ones, but at least you don’t have to be physically following them around at every second.
The only thing you should be weary of is the cleanliness of your ball pit. The balls should be washed every four to six months using mild soap and water. After rinsing the balls, they should also be sanitised with bleach solution. Make sure they’re completely dry before putting them back in the pit.
- Water slides or swimming pools
In the summertime, nothing beats water play. Water slides and above ground pools can keep the kids cool and entertained for hours and hours on end.
Parents will also be pleased to know that, after the kids are finished playing, they’re likely going to be too tired to run around and make noise inside the house. This gives parents the opportunity to take time for themselves.
Physical activity doesn’t have to be tortuous and bland. Exercise doesn’t have to be limited to laps around a field, the beep test and boring old push ups. Children are much more likely to stay active if the activity is fun and exciting. By giving your kids one of the five items above, they will be playing outdoors in no time.
