Are you looking for some summer toys that will help you to spend some good, fun, quality time with your kiddos this summer? Outdoor summer toys are the best because kids require a lot of stuff for proper growth and development that playing outside can provide, such as proper nutrients, physical exercise, fresh air, and sunshine.
But when you choose summer toys for playing outside, look for toys that you can play with, too! Because the best way to build a strong bond with your child is to play with your child.
Summers can be really busy for many families, which makes squeezing in good, quality time with our kiddos really, really hard.
I remember one summer when we had come home from a busy weekend at the lake. I had my four youngest and my sister-in-law’s three kiddos for four days that weekend. It was nonstop, jam-packed fun, and I’m not as young as I used to be! After my nieces (yes girls!! We had two girls in the house!!) and nephew went home, we popped in Cars Three and crashed.
So Monday was a whirlwind! I had some work to do, some bathrooms to clean, carpets to vacuum and a cake to bake! It was my little Toot’s birthday on Tuesday! And he was turning six.
So there was no time to play “go fishing” with my Little Prince Ali.
But he kept on asking…
I felt horrible, not having the time to play with him. I kept promising him ‘later’ but ‘later’ never came. 😢
Why spending quality time with your kids is important
But the thing is, if you don’t maintain your relationship with your children, that relationship will end up just like your bathrooms after a long, crazy busy weekend…. all crusty and gross.
Maybe you let your bathroom go along, day after day, neglected and uncared for. You walk in, use it, look around and think, “Man, I really need to get to this.” 🤔
The next time you come in, you notice the toothpaste is turning yellow in the sink and the floor is a tad stickier than the last time you ventured in (you’re stepping in urine! Abort! Abort! 😆 )
And before you know it, you are planning a party and you really have to get to those bathrooms!!
In the same way, your relationship with your children can be neglected.
You can’t just tend to them when people are coming over and you want them to look good.
They aren’t bathrooms. They don’t shine again with just one clean. 😂🤣
It doesn’t work that way. They need to be ‘cleaned up’ on a daily basis.
So go on in and tidy up a bit.
Give daily love and hugs. Dole out regular communication, reassurance, and support. And set up some daily routines and consistent rules.
Throw in some quality playtime from mom and dad, and your kids will sparkle every single day! 😂🤣
Do these things on a daily basis and you will always have a great relationship with your kiddos. They will respect you, follow your rules, and trust that you know what’s best.
Plus, they will adore you, and you will adore them.
The best way to spend quality time with your kids is to play with them
When you play with your child, you show your child that he is important to you – important enough to step away from your daily routine of work and responsibilities.
This is exactly what I should have done when Prince Ali wanted to play Go Fishing. I mean, how long could that have taken? Ten minutes, at most.
When you do that, you teach your child that spending time with friends and family is essential; that other people are significant.
Our lives are not just made up of our own wants and needs. We do not go through the day simply satisfying our every whim and ignoring the needs of others. We spend our days helping others, serving others, and doing things for others. When you set aside your work to play with your child, you teach him this very basic skill.
When you play with your child, you also socialize your child
But, when you play with your child, you also teach a ton of other things, too.
You teach your child the rules of the game. You teach him how to handle winning like a champ and you teach him how to handle losing with grace. He learns how to share, how to take turns, how to appropriately taunt his competition and how to tell when he’s taken it a bit too far.
He learns the basics of communication and how to read the nonverbal cues from those playing with him; how to read other people’s emotions.
These are all very basic skills that will serve him well in every area of his life.
Playing with your child like this will help his social development.
[For board games that can teach social skills, check out this post: The Best Board Games that Teach Social Skills]
When you play with your child, you also encourage your child to use his imagination
But playing with your kids teaches other skills, too.
Your child learns how to step outside of the box and look at things a bit differently. He learns to be creative.
I once told Boo to use a stick as a gun when he didn’t have a gun to join in the game, and he looked at me like I was nuts! He said, “But it’s a stick….” 🙄
😂🤣 Kids need to step outside of the norm and use a little imagination. It helps to grow their cognitive functioning.
When my son was able to do this, he suddenly had a laser-shooting, ice-throwing weapon of destruction, used specifically to shoot down the Rebel Forces. I know, I know….he was the bad guy…. An issue for another day. 😆
He didn’t have a gun and using the stick helped him to learn not only to use his imagination, but it also helped him to think abstractly and to solve the no-gun problem.
Play does all of these things!
Plus play continuously builds and refreshes the parent-child bond! It is the daily cleaning your kiddos need, to keep on a shining day after day after day.
The power of play is absolutely amazing.
I strongly and whole-heartedly believe that it is a child’s job to play. That is how they learn and grow.
The best summer toys for playing with your kids
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So without further ado, here are our favorite outside summer toys! These are all things we play together, as a family.
1. Kites
Kites teach patience (for both parent and child alike! Ha!) They are hard to get up in the air and hard to keep in the air. They require subtle movements with your hands and a lot of communication between parent and child.
But the more you work together, the closer you grow. Thus, kites are not only great for emotional development and fine motor skills, but they are fantastic for strengthening that bond between you and your child.
For some unique kites, go to windsweptkites.com. My favorite is this underwear kite, simply because it fits my boys’ personality well!!
2. Trac Ball
Trac Ball is a hard skill for younger kids to learn, so it takes a lot of patience and practice. Your child will overcome anger and frustration in learning this game, helping him to grow emotionally.
But after the skill is mastered, it is simply a fun game to play! The laughter that follows will be remembered and cherished forever. And get the light-up trac ball for evening play!
3. Bubbles
Bubbles can be calming and almost therapeutic. They are a great toy for those moments when you need to take things down a notch. But not only do they help calm both parent and child, they also create some lasting impressions on parents. There is nothing sweeter than watching your child chase after bubbles with pure abandon!
4. Water Guns
Of course, water guns are great for creative play! They help kids to use their imaginations. Break into teams and have an all-out water gun fight! Or everyone team up against dad! You can build forts, create safe zones or even play Star Wars with water guns. The possibilities are endless – and so are the memories!
5. Kickball & Baseball
Kickball is a great game to play with your kids, even at a young age. It’s easier to teach than baseball, because it’s easier for little ones to kick a ball than it is to hit a ball. But even kids at a young age can learn baseball, too, because there are a lot of props and aides to help them out.
We spend nearly every evening in the summer ploaying some sort o foutside game, and kickball and baseball is always a winner!
6. Ladder Ball
Ladder Ball is another slower-paced yard game that is great for working on communication with your child.
My boys get competitive and silly when playing games, and they like to pick on me while we play. 😂🤣
This playful banter builds a sweet bond between us, as we dish it off back and forth. These slower-paced, less-intense games are great for letting down your guard and letting your child see the real person behind this so-called “mom” or “dad”. Being real is a sure-fire way to fast-track your relationship.
7. Basketballs & Footballs
Summer is a great time to introduce your child to basketball and football. Basketball is a little easier to teach, especially with toddler hoops. But your child can learn the basics of catch with a football as well. If they have older siblings, they might even chase each other and try to “get” the football. There are also flags you can buy, for flag football.
We love playing football in the evenings now. But, my boys are finally old enough to understand the mechanics of the game – and teach it to mom! 😆
8. Croquet
Croquet can be an awesome intellectual stimulator. My boys like to make the course themselves, and they like to make it as hard as they can! This game helps them develop many skills, such as design, problem-solving, critical thinking, structure, creativity, analytical thinking, and of course, competitiveness and patience.
But it is best played with mom and dad, to watch for anger issues, of course (you don’t want one hitting the other with a mallet!) but more importantly, to build that relationship!
9. Sand Box Toys
Our sandboxes just keep getting bigger and bigger over the years! 😆 With each new house comes a bigger sandbox. Until this time. Our boys have finally outgrown them.
And we have the beach at the lake, so if they get the urge to build a castle, they can do it there.
Sandboxes are great for creative play. But, when you play, follow your child’s lead. Let him tell you what to do and how to play. Follow his rules and change it up when he tells you.
Giving him this free reign will help to develop his creativity and leadership skills. Plus, it’ll build a great, trusting relationship between the two of you. 😉
10. Bikes
Get out of dodge and enjoy the summer! Go build some memories!
Taking a bike ride will help your child to learn safety rules and to pay attention to his surroundings, something which has been lost a bit, in this digital, virtual world we live in.
Biking somewhere together is an awesome way to build your relationship. Hit the trails and take in nature together. Bike down to the local Dairy Queen and grab some ice cream or head on over to the library, museum, ballpark, or any other fun attraction.
Just get out together! And use the travel time to talk.
11. Slip & Slides, Sprinklers & Pools
Wanna hear your little tyke giggle? Then these toys are great!!
They are also great for helping your child work through any fears he may have of the water.
Put your toddler on your hip and run through the sprinkler together – then he can give it a try in the safety of mom’s arms.
If done right, water toys can help a child to learn to trust his parents. Developing trust in each other will only strengthen that relationship.
12. Sidewalk Chalk
What a great toy for creativity! The possibilities are endless! You can create art together, or learn basic shapes, letters and numbers together. You can create games, such as hopscotch.
My boys and I spent one summer drawing car tracks and pretending we were cars driving on the road! Follow their lead with the sidewalk chalk and be ready to dive in to a world of make-believe.
13. Play Tents & Tunnels
Fun, fun, and more fun! Who doesn’t love a good tent, fort, or tunnel?
These toys are great for taking that imaginative play outdoors. You can play store, restaurant, house, or any other dress-up game outside in tents and forts. Tunnels can only take it up a notch!
14. Swings
Swings and slides are great for spending some time together. It’s low-key fun that only requires you and your time (well, and a swing or a slide, and a push or two 😉 ).
Your child gets the one-on-one he craves from you. That attention from you helps him to develop her sense of self-worth and it teaches her how to do relationships right.
15. Volleyballs & Soccer Balls
Volleyballs are good for just throwing around with your kids until they are old enough to learn how to play. But just getting used to the ball is a good idea.
Soccer, on the other hand, is easier to teach because kids can learn to chase after a ball and kick it way easier than they can learn to bump and spike. 😉
Either way, playtime equals fun time with mom and dad!!
16. Big Balls
Balls are great for any age. You can get footballs and basketballs, and play an actual sport with your kids, especially if they are a bit older. But just having a gynormous ball and kicking it around the yard is super fun with the little guys.
Give it a little kick and then race them to the ball! They get a taste for competition and quickly learn how to handle the disappointment that comes along with not being first. Kicking a ball is a fantastic way to work on those basic emotions, such as joy, frustration, and disappointment.
But it also offers time together, laughing and having fun.
At the end of the day…
At the end of the day, momma, you want to collapse into bed knowing you spent quality time with your kids that day. And any toy can get the job done, but these are the toys that I found to be the best for playing with my kids outside, in the summertime.
These are the toys that they loved, and that I actually enjoyed playing with, as well. 😉
Do you have a great summer toy for bonding? Drop it in the comments below! Maybe I’ll add it to the post!