large red rubber ball for children to bounce on

We hear about the Micro Kickboard all the time - from toy-store owners, parents, and kids - and we’re probably not going to stop hearing about it anytime soon. “Kids get to live their play experience in a more complete way than they can indoors.” If there’s water in there, that’s fine,” says Scott. (If your little ones have a wide age gap, you can consider the larger, two-level KidKraft Cozy Escape Playhouse, which has everything from a kitchen on the bottom level to a climbing wall and twisty slide for the bigger kids.) And don’t underestimate the freedom kids will find in a space that’s not confined to the walls of their own house: “If there’s dirt in there, that’s fine. “When it comes to outdoor play,” adds Silver, “a lot of it is purely physical, but then you have the other level, which is imaginative play.” Kids can set up all sorts of pretend scenarios using the house’s kitchen, café window, chalkboard walls, clock, and phone.

If you want to nurture social and emotional development, a playhouse like this wood house with a real ringing doorbell - admittedly not a small investment of money (or assembly time) - “allows siblings of varying ages to engage in parallel play, enjoying the same space while not necessarily doing the exact same activity,” explains children’s librarian Lesley Siegel of the Port Washington Public Library. In almost every case, though, they have educational and developmental benefits in addition to letting kids get dirty and run wild. Many of these products are classics, and several are new within the past few years some are portable enough for you to take along to the park, and others require your own private outside space.

All the toys are designed to amplify your kiddo’s outdoor fun, but some of them (like this telescope) can be used indoors as well. They range from a blow-up art easel to an ATV-style roller coaster, a foam pogo stick to a geometric- dome climber, and a polished aluminum gardening set to suction-cup archery. The following list breaks down the most highly recommended outdoor toys by age: 2 through 4, 4 through 6, and 6 through 10. To find them, we gathered suggestions from a slew of experts: child psychologists and toy insiders, children’s librarians and Little Gym owners, kids and parents. While perennial favorites like kiddie pools and bikes are surefire hits, we set out to add some new outdoor toys to the must-have list. Outdoor toys are fun to play with any time of year, and having an array of balls, water balloons, ride-on toys, and bubble machines can help keep energetic kids busy until sunset. Photo-Illustration: The Strategist Photos: Retailers

Large red rubber ball for children to bounce on