5 Backyard Games to Promote Physical Activity in Children

Back in the day, a simple backyard activity would bring tons of fun; the tire swing, the tree house and a simple hide and seek game were enough to provide the needed recreation. Today, however, we have deprived our children of the simple pleasures that can be garnered through simple backyard activities.

Our hectic lifestyles have made us overlook the most important thing in life—our children’s health. I’ll admit, delivering kids into the arms of technology is pretty convenient. As a parent, I understand how messy kids can be, and what a relief it is to have a few hours of silence while your kid engages with his video game. However, is it really a responsible thing to do? Nobody said, raising kids would be easy; we cannot simply jeopardize our children’s health for our convenience. Below, I have gathered a list of simple backyard activities that will not only help you spend some quality time with your kids, but also help you find a physical activity that will hopefully get your kids to say au revoir to their sedentary lifestyle.

Who doesn’t love soccer? If you have soccer aficionados at home, then building a soccer goal could be a great idea for a summer backyard activity. You can easily assemble a soccer goal within a few hours. All you need is a couple of PVC pipes and netting (deer netting would work great). PVC pipes are lightweight and are easy to move about. Get your kids out and turn your background into a soccer field.

Here’s another fun yet challenging game that can get the blood rushing in yoru children. Pipe ball lawn game requires simple PVC pipes of varying sizes and a tennis ball. If you have had a little practice with nerf hoops then this oculd be actually a great activity to test your skills. The varying sizes of the pipes make it tricky for the kids to win every round.

None of us have enough time to drive ourselves along with a gang of squabbling children to the golf course. Why not bring the golf course to your backyard? All you have to do is dig a few holes in the backyard and place a bunch of obstacles in the way of those holes to make the game more challenging. A great thing about mini backyard golf course is that the whole family can play it!

If the commercial playground equipment has failed to get your kids away from their gaming consoles, then try something different. Sandbox is like a little beach of your own in the backyard. Get ready to have hours of unlimited fun in a small box. Sandbox is a great tool for unstructured play; get your kids in there and let them work their imagination to build something extravagantly creative. Kids might find it hard to wrap their head around the concept of playing with raw sand, but give it a week; your kids will soon figure out what to do.

If you enjoy history and cultures, then you are probably aware of the famous Swedish game ‘Kubb.’ The aim of the game is to throw dowels at the opponent’s pieces in order to knock them over. This isn’t exactly a backyard soccer or a adventurous outdoor playground equipment activity, but it is challenging and worth a shot.