Did you know that kids spend an average of 55 hours a week inside playing video games, watching television and other indoor activities? When you throw school and sleep into the mix, you end up with an average number of 2.12 hours spent playing outside. I think we need to switch those numbers around so the kids are outside more than they are inside. With childhood obesity climbing higher every day, we cannot afford the risk of our kids becoming a statistic. I am already seeing that happen in my own house with my teenage daughter. Caitlin wants to spend more and more time in her room, as typical teens will do, and less time outside playing with her brother. We have seen her gain a few pounds from her lack of activity and now is the time to make changes,while it is early. Here are some simple and easy tips for getting kids outdoors to play:
- Camping: Who said you needed to travel to a campground to camp out? Why not set up the tent in the backyard, get the fire pit going and tell some ghost stories!
- Walking: Get the whole family to take a walk after dinner. It is great exercise and gives you a change to hang out together where there are no distractions. Families do not always take the time to talk to one another and this is a perfect chance to do that.
- Climb A Tree: If you have some good trees made for climbing make like a monkey and go! We need to get the kids back to basics and enjoy the things in nature. Who needs to spend the money to go to a climbing center while you have places to climb in your own back yard.
- Jump:There are so many things that you can do that require jumping. Jump rope, jump on a trampoline, jump on a balance ball, jump on a pogo stick. Just get out there and start acting like the bunny rabbits do and jump.
- Balls:Every kid should have a few balls in the play equipment. We have a baseball, tennis balls, soccer ball, football and a playground ball. There are so many games you can play with a ball that the possibilities are endless. If you are looking for some games you can play outside as well as inside, Begin Again Toys is a great place to look. These toys are based on a unique concept in which well balanced play is observed.
Getting Kids To Play Outdoors
I was really interested in learning more about the philosophy behind the Begin Again Toys company. They used the acronym of “A WISH” which stands for 5 distinct areas of play that was developed by Benjamin Barlowe. The letters stand for: Artist, Writer, Inventor, Sportster and Hero. Barlowe’s theory is that kids will bounce from one of these areas of play to another. If you look at the day of a kid, it is true that they can go from coloring a picture, to kicking a soccer ball to pretending to be Dash from the Incredible’s to bath time to bed. I knew that the products from Begin Again Toys would be a way for getting kids  to play outdoors.
We chose an item from the kid’s most favorite categories: Artist for Caitlin and Sportster for Henry. For Caitlin, we were sent the Artist On The Go Set that includes a sturdy canvas carrying case that has a crayon and pencil holders,  a 6″x9″ recycled paper notepad, 10 soy crayons, 5 drawing stencils, a 6″ ruler (metric and inches), 2 wood pencils and a pencil sharpener. Caitlin just loves this and I love it because it is so easy to grab and take in the car when we are running errands. For Henry, we got the Kickin’ Putt which the kids had a blast with. The kids put the scoring disc on the grass and then took turns kicking the ball towards the disc. The first one to get the ball on the disc is the winner, which on the first round, was Caitlin. We are totally happy with our toys from Begin Again Toys and they are getting outside more often to play with them.
One USA reader will win one Kicki’n Putt ($30.00) and one Artist On The Go ($25.00)
i like the Dinosaur A to Z Puzzle
Moose Family Puzzle
The Bathtub Ball!
I like the Buddy Blocks – Safari – Farm – Backyard.
I like the pusharound duck.
My favorite product is Artist On The Go!
I like artist on the go!
puzzle
I really like the Dinosaur A to Z Puzzle
I like the number snail.
i like the Dinosaur A to Z Puzzle
I like the Bathtub Ball
I like the push arounds car, duck and puppy dog.
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I love the treasure hunt set!
I REALLY want that Artist on the Go kit for my ten-year-old daughter!
Love the art on the go set
Love the art set on the go.
I like the artist on the go kit!!
the dog family puzzle
The artist set! My daughter loves to make art. Out of everything lol
I love the kickin putt
I like the Cat Family Puzzle!
we would love to play the Treasure Hunt – Objects and Shapes Game
Cat Family Puzzle
i like the dunk and dive bathroom characters 🙂
I LOVE the Tea Otters Beverage Set
How neat is this I would like this for my granddaughters to play outside and run, jump and move, Kickin’ Putt “The original game of toss and kick! This old time game combines the fun of soccer, kickball, flying discs, and golf! “
I like the Eco YoYo
the artist on the go set
Treasure Hunt (for my little adventurous ones)! Plus, they are starting to get into checkers too!
Love the Artist On The Go!
I like the Artist play set.
I love the Dog Family Puzzle
Treasure Hunt – Objects and Shapes Game
I LOVE the Tea Otters Beverage Set. So Cute!
My daughter would absolutely love the artist on the go set!
i like the safari buddy blocks!
I like the Buddy Blocks – Safari – Farm – Backyard
love the dog family puzzle!!
My daughters would love the Artist On The Go!
I like Dunk & Dive Bathtub Characters.
My grandson is the artist in my family, he would adore the Artist On The Go! set.
lemonade set
I KNOW kids would love the Treasure Hunt!
push around duck
dunk and DIVE bathtub characters!
I like the Dinosaur A to Z Puzzle
I like the Cat Family Puzzle.
bath toys!
Treasure Hunt- Objects & Shapes Game
Kickin’ Putt is my favorite
love their lemonaid set
I like the dunk and dive bathtub characters
I like the Bathtub Ball – Shark Tank
I like the treasure hunt game, it looks like it would be a lot of fun!
I like the art items for my great grandchildren. Thank you for the sweepstakes.
Our family would get the most enjoyment out of the kickin’ putt. Our Cub Scouts would like that game too!
Kickin’ Putt is my favorite
I like the Earthworms, they are adorable.
the kicking putt
I like the Buddy Blocks – Farm.
Artist on the go set is awesome
I like the Bathtub Ball- Shark Tank.
Moose Family Puzzle 🙂
LOVE Artist On The Go! kit!!
I like the Number Snail puzzle.
I like the number snail
I like the Scented Scoops Ice Cream Set
Pusharounds
I also like the Treasure Hunt – Objects and Shapes Game.
I like the Scented Scoops Ice Cream Set.
hschonrock at yahoo dot com
I love the Artist On The Go! kit.
I love the Bathtub Ball – Shark Tank!!
Treasure Hunt – Objects and Shapes Game looks like fun!~!
I like the Kickin Putt
I like the Scented Scoops Ice Cream Set!
I like the push around toys, earthworms, and I like that they are eco-friendly.
I like the PushArounds: Car, Duck and Dog
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