Outdoor Games For Toddlers

Perhaps in no other stage of human life has more energy come bundled, with respect to body size, as in the toddler stage. Yes, toddlers are notorious for their high energy level. Leave them on their own and they will probably bring the entire house down and perhaps two or three neighboring houses too. Remember the movie ‘Baby’s Day Out’? Well, that cuddly baby in the movie is your characteristic toddler role model. If three sturdy robbers were not enough, then how do you think that a baby sitter or the mother, or both, or if you throw in the dad too into the bargain, would be enough to control a toddler? A calm and composed toddler is a myth. The only weapon that you have is to tire the young one out, or pray for him/her to go to sleep. This is why toddlers should be involved in more and more games so that they can channelize their indefatigable energy to a proper outlet. However, games do not just help the young one to oust the interminable energy level, but are also very necessary for the toddlers to develop their fine motor skills. What they learn through games during this stage will remain throughout their life. So, the games should be such that they should emphasize on all sorts of mental, physical and sensory development in the toddlers. Games will also help the toddlers to fine tune their eye-hand-mind coordination and eye teaming, to enhance their big muscle groups and depth perception. Given below are a few such outdoor games for toddlers.

 

Bring in all the toddlers to a large outdoor space. Take a hula hoop, about the size of the toddlers, for each of them. Give each toddler a hoop and first let them use it any way they like. Then show them the proper usage of a hula hoop by using it yourself. You can make the hoop go round and round on your waist, or spin it on the arm or arrange the hoops on the ground and jump over them. Show each toddler individually how he/she can play with the hoop. In no time, would you find the toddlers immersed in the hula hoop.

 

This game is all about mixing colors. Let all the toddlers face a large whitewashed wall. Then give each of them a spray bottle filled with water color mixed with water. Make sure that each toddler has a different color in their spray bottle. Tell them to start spraying on the wall and let them see what happens when the colors mix. When the toddlers see the spray mixing to different shapes and colors, they are sure to start spray painting with renewed vigor. Take care to use water colors that wash off easily.

 

First decorate a box filled with cookies, candies, chocolates, gold colored rings, necklaces and various other stuffs like that. Now, hide this box in the yard or in the living room. Prepare a map with pictures that the toddlers can follow detailing the clues. Ensure that the clues are as simple as possible. Let them collectively decipher the clues and search for the treasure. Once they discover the treasure, make sure that all of them share the goodies.

 

Mystery Sprinkler
Take the toddlers to a lawn or a park and leave them with the sprinklers. Tell them that the sprinklers will release water and anyone who can dodge the sprinkles will get a cookie. This can be a very fun game, as toddlers love water and they will surely love when it sprays upon them. However, to earn the treat, they must try their best to stay away from the spray much against their natural instinct. The kids will also have a lot of fun deciding from where the spray will shoot.