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[O359]Outdoor Toys And Games

by Paul, Pau

Mymemory of outdoor toys.

Thefirst outdoor toy I ever played onwas a trampoline. It was a cheapfacsimile of the theme park versions that I had hopped up and down on as asmall child. Barely two metres in width on both sides, it gave out after amonth of heavy usage. The springs simply could not take my youthful exertion.So my father upgraded to an adult-sized trampolinewith a safety enclosure for good measure. This outdoor toy was hardy andcould take the weight of myself and my brother's incessant jumping sprees. Wewould not have to upgrade it for a very long time afterwards.

My tastefor outdoor toys grew as I did.After another summer disappeared into memory, a swinging bench was installedunder the much-maligned fig tree which stank up the garden with its rottingfruit. I could scarcely believe the amount of fun I had, swinging like ahyperactive monkey under the thick branch of this evil tree. The fun quicklyended when I discovered that the base of my swing had become a colony forbutton-spiders. Instead of telling my father and letting him eradicate theproblem for me, I decided to never use it again. I believe that this option wasthe best.

Whenswings and trampolines could no longer contain my boundless energy, my parentserected what was possibly the greatest outdoortoy of them all, namely an above-ground swimming pool. The sheer elationthat teemed from my tiny body could barely restrain my enthusiasm for thisproject. It was quickly assembled and filled with water. It came with a simplefilter and one rickety set of stairs, but I will be dammed if it wasn't themost fun (pre-Nintendo) that I had ever had in my life. It rapidly become dirtyand stained with grass, beetles loved to dive-bomb into the waters and swiminto my hair and the pool-stairs became a danger to all and sundry, yet itremained a firm favourite for many years.

As Imatured, my tastes in outdoor toysbecame slightly more advanced and wanting. The countless action movies that Ihad watched on repeat had inspired my cousin, my brother and myself to purchaseBB guns. The upgraded versions of course, aptly named ?Gats?. These were heavy,steel instruments of prepubescent destruction and felt dangerous in our fingers.The irony was of course that the pellets could do as much harm as shooting apea out of straw. An eye could be damaged of course, but it was impossible(much to my dismay) to shatter bottles or break wooden beams. The Gats quicklybecame too underpowered to keep our waning interests, so we simply discardedthem in the neighbourhood drainage systems.

My finaloutdoor toy came in the form of amountain bike. It was an economy model, with tight brakes and a propensity forslipping on rainy surfaces. That particular craze lasted all of three months,roundabout the time I received my first Nintendo console. The world of gamingdrew me out of the child-like succour that outdoortoys had gifted me. One day, my child can revel in their own dream world,filled with whichever outdoor toysthey wish to own; and I will happily stand by their side as they enjoy it.

With the recent spate of playground related injuries, parents are starting to become more aware of what is and isn't safe in an outdoor child toy. The sad thing is, hundreds of thousands of children are still injured each year in toy related incidents. So how can you make sure that your child is safe when he or she plays?

First of all, it's important to remember that it's impossible to keep a child completely safe during play, or any time, for that matter. Some bumps, bruises, scrapes and cuts have to be expected on the rocky road to growing up, and little injuries like that are good for children; they give them an idea of the world around them, and teach them what the laws of physics will and will not allow them to do. But with that said, no child should ever be hurt so badly while playing that he or she had to go to the emergency room. And the best way to keep that from happening is to know what's going on with your child, at all times.

However, it's equally important, especially with very young or very small children, that they play with toys that are suitable for their age unless you're right with them. It's one thing to hold a toddler on a bicycle seat and let him pretend he's riding it; it's quite another to let the same toddler clamber over the bicycle while it's lying on the ground and you're at the other end of the yard. Just as toast always lands butter side up when it falls, a child left on his own will get hurt if he possibly can. Check for small parts or sharp edges on any toy before you allow your child to play with it without you right over them. Mind you, I'm not saying that you should become a second shadow; if you have more than one kid, you won't be able to, anyway. I am saying that you should always be close by when your children are playing, and always make sure that the toys they're playing with won't be able to hurt them if you should turn your back for a few minutes.

Check labels. Most toys will come with warnings that say "3+" or "Not for children under four". Pay attention to those labels. Heed them. But don't just assume that because a label says "For ages three and up" and your child is four that the toy is automatically safe. Check for sharp edges. Check for places where curious little hands might get stuck. (The chain and gears on bicycles are particularly bad about that, for example.) Above all, be aware, and use common sense!

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Paul has sinced written about articles on various topics from Chanel, Online Business and Finances. David Manning writes articles for s- and websites.. Paul's top article generates over 2240000 views. to your Favourites.

Mayoor Patel has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Card Interest Rates, Food And Drink and Home Management. For vital information on all things concerned with snowboarding visit . Mayoor Patel's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.