The Best Outdoor Toys For Toddlers

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Getting your toddler outside offers them a number of benefits as the many outdoor toys and activities can help them develop both gross and fine motor skills, problem solving skills and deductive reasoning.

Being outside also gives your toddler fresh air, space, and the ability to be creative without you having to stress over the mess. In addition to this, he/she will receive valuable benefits from exercising and gain better coordination skills.

Based on our experience, here are the best Outdoor Toys for Toddlers

Ride on Toys

Push and Pedal ride on toys are ideal for toddlers. Available in a range of shapes; Cars, Fire Engines and more, they are fantastic at encouraging active play. Many models come with lights and sounds which add depth to the pretend play and provide great enjoyment for your toddler. While initially expensive, they can be used by younger siblings at a later stage and often are fantastic to get older siblings to play with their younger siblings by pushing them around. My son loved his Cosy Fire Engine Coupe and only parted with it when he physically couldn’t fit in it any longer.

Balls

Soft balls are a great way for toddlers to develop hand eye coordination and gross motor skills. You can start at any age; initially rolling the ball to your child and then teaching them how to catch or kick the ball. Loved by most children, you can get licenced balls with their favourite characters and then watch as your child successfully starts kicking, then running and kicking or catching from further distances.

Chalk

Chalk is a fantastic low-mess way to encourage creativity in your toddler. Together you can create pictures, road tracks on the driveway or outline shadows, shapes and more. Wash away with the hose or leave until the next rainfall. Take your Chalk drawings to the next level with Chalk It Up, featuring bright neon colours, they offer traditional chalk in novelty designs or my daughters favourite; the Chalk Paint where you paint the chalk onto your driveway to create beautiful pictures that can be washed away when desired.

Balance Bikes

Balance Bikes are a fantastic toy for toddlers and pre-schoolers, offering a range of benefits. Without pedals, your toddler can start riding, which is a fun way to get around parks or to chase older siblings. Balance bikes provide toddlers with great skills in that they learn to balance, better coordinate their body parts and more. Once they are able to balance on the bike, you will find their confidence and self-esteem rise as well. We have tested a number of balance bikes and encourage you to take a look at our Balance Bike Reviews to see which is right for you.

Sand Pit or Water Play

Playing with sand and water is a favoured pastime for many toddlers. They love the sensory feel of the sand or water and enjoying moving it around, watching what happens. Let them dig, build or sift it, exploring the outcomes, utilising their imagination while building motor skills. Filling buckets with water or putting toys into water offers hours of fun as well. If purchasing a sand pit, make sure you get one that can be closed at night, so you don’t find any surprises left from wildlife when you next play. If having a sandpit is not an option look into Kinetic Sand as this can be stored in airtight containers.

Bouncing toys

Bouncing toys like the Bop Along Buddies are ideal for families with smaller courtyards and are also great fun for toddlers. Sitting and bouncing around on the toys will help promote balance and motor skills while allowing them greater movement and offering a fun form of exercise.

Cubby House

Perfect for role playing and stimulating the imagination, a Cubby House can be their ‘home’ where they can cook dinner or even a café where you can order your meals. Add a letter box and put little letters/drawings in it so your child can get the mail. My daughter loved our cubby house much more than my sons who were happy to play from time to time but generally were too active to play in it for long. Whilst they can be expensive to purchase, second hand options are available at great prices. We had one with a slide which was fantastic and added an extra dimension to the Cubby House.