The Best Outdoor Games for Kids

Outdoor is always a fun place for kids. They love to jump, to run and to get littered in full dust. In my childhood years, evening was my favorite time, because in the evening we used to go to our nearby playground to play kabaddi and kho-kho. Those days, cricket was not that much popular. We used to have a team where children from different age group joined us to play the games. We used to plan new games every day. But with the changing time, the outdoor games have also been changed. Now the place of kabaddi and kho-kho have been taken by games like cricket, baseball, basketball, tennis, blob tag, driveway baseball, flashlight tag and many more.

Though the games have changed, but their benefits are still the same. Apart from the physical benefits, these games are also beneficial for mental and psychological development of kids. These games teach the kids to follow a particular routine, which is very essential for the later life. Moreover, these games are a great way of inculcating leadership, team spirit and belongingness among kids. There are different outdoor games designed for different age group of children. For toddlers, ‘hide & seek’ or ‘touch me if you can’ are ideal ones. The young ones can play games that engage all body muscles to work.

Playing outside can begin from early age. There are plenty of choices for the outdoor games for toddlers and teens. These games follow certain rules and one need to learn the tricks and techniques to take part in these. Parents sometime become worried about which game would suit their child best. Here there is a list of games that kids can play during their free time.

• Blog Tag- for a group of kids, this game is an ideal one. This game is started by the youngest member of the group. The first person whom the child tags, becomes the part of the blob and then the child go after the rest of the players.
• Driveway Baseball- one can say that it is a homemade game. Here kids draw a baseball field with chalk and then uses flat stones or beanbags to toss into the chalk field.
• Traffic Cop- this game teaches kids about traffic rules. One kid plays the role of a traffic police and others are the passers by.
• Octopus Tag- In this game a child becomes the octopus and calls the other kids to cross the sea. This game involves a lot of body movements and thus is very beneficial for kids.
• Obstacle-Cool Course- This game will take some creativity on your part and your kids. You’ll need water, buckets, water balloons and squirt guns that are all laid out in an obstacle course. Perfect for a hot day when that one friend who’s got a pool is on vacation so you’re stuck in your own backyard.

Apart from the peers, parents can also become good partners of their kids in their outdoor games. By playing with kids, parents can also strengthen their bond with each-other.