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Why & How to Encourage a Child to Play Outside

The great outdoors get their name because they are just that: great! However, if your little ones require some extra coaxing to explore their backyard, we can help with that. These are our favorite tips to encourage a child to play outside. We’ve put our big-kid brains together to think up the most fun and the safest outside activities for kids to enjoy!

Continue reading to discover just how to encourage a child to play outside.

outside activities for kids

Safe & Fun Outside Activities for Kids to Enjoy

No doubt about it, outdoor play time is vital to the health, well being, and happiness of your family. Spending hours on end, parked on the couch smartphone in hand just isn’t a substitute.

The outside activities for kids you choose should be customized to appeal to your family specifically! When reading through our tips for how to encourage a child to play outside, keep in mind the interests your children already have:

  1. Have a picnic — What kid doesn’t love a good snack? Combine healthy eating with the great outdoors for one unforgettable outdoor activity you, your kids, and their friends can all enjoy together.
  2. Get a playground — Many of us parents grew up with a classic wooden swing set and LOVED the adventures it created. Today’s kids deserve to know that same sense of fun, but while having the modern safety features of a long lasting vinyl set! Add onto your custom set with sandboxes, rock walls, game panels, and more from Adventure World Play Sets!
  3. Use puppy dog eyes — Here’s one of our favorite 2 birds, 1 stone scenarios. If you have a dog, use them to appeal to your little one’s love to get them outside! Suggest your child throws a ball, chases, goes for a walk or plays with your pooch. Hands down this is one of the most satisfying outside activities for kids.
  4. Healthy competition — There’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, especially when it comes to encouraging a child to play outside. Think sports, scavenger hunts, bike races, obstacle courses, sidewalk-chalk drawing contests, and more. If your kiddos have copped a competitive edge, these are effective motivators. Get ideas for fun outdoor family games here!
  5. Encourage creativity — One of the things we love most about building children’s outdoor playsets is the versatility and creativity that can accompany them. For imaginative youngsters, a playset isn’t just a playset — it’s so much more. Adventure World play sets come with ample options to let the imagination grow. See some of our play equipment that kick starts the imagination.
  6. Bring the indoors, outdoors — For the children who are more calm, cool, and collected, perhaps a more reserved activity would be most enticing. Make the ordinary coloring, reading, snack time, or homework more exciting by giving them their own space to perform it outdoors! Our happy hideout playhouse is the perfect home base for all of these activities!

Language That Encourages Children to Play Outside

mom and kids playing outside

It’s easy to encourage your kids to play outside, especially with the right tools and the right wording. Save the bribes for bedtime, here’s a few strong sentences to encourage a child to play outside:

  • “It’s ok to get wet, dirty and messy!”
  • “Let’s invite your friend!”
  • “Can you find me a                      from the backyard?”
  • “I’ll come with you.”

Try a few of these sentences the next time you’re trying to get your little ones in the great outdoors!

Why Outdoor Activities Are So Important for Kids

As an increase in technology and screen time rises, a decrease in outdoor play time has also been trending. It’s important to go the extra mile in encouraging a child to play outside because of its many benefits on their emotional, physical, and mental health.

Below are just a few of the ways outside activities help children:

  • Aerobic exercise
  • Prevents obesity
  • Improves sensory skills
  • Sparks imagination & promotes creativity
  • Boosts mental health
  • Contributes to social & emotional development
  • And much more

While outdoor play has fallen a bit out of fashion lately, we’re working to bring it back! Outdoor play is available for just about every kid — no matter where they live — so what is stopping your children from spending more time outdoors?

How to Encourage a Child to Play Outside Using Adventure World Play Sets

These are some of our favorite ideas of how to encourage a child to play outside. Parents and kids agree, playing outside is more fun with an Adventure World Play Set! While parents love the undoubting safety of our swing sets for sale, kids love the fun features and bright colors of them.

Our swing sets, playsets, sandboxes, rock walls, and hidden huts are experts at turning “digital kids” into outdoor fans! Start designing your custom set or enter your zip code to be connected to your nearest Adventure World Play Sets dealer!

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Our Google Reviews

The best swingset company, in my opinion! We are an independent contractor that works for a lot of companies. Adventure world swingsets are built very well. They will last more than one generation.
Jay Flaud
Jay Flaud
2023-01-14
Reasonable price, great warranty, well installed. Kids will love it1
John Lippert
John Lippert
2022-12-29
Amazing quality! Definitely worth the purchase since kids play all day on it!
Isabella Laris Logan
Isabella Laris Logan
2022-11-07
Just got a wonderful playset for our preschool. It is fantastic!! It has been an easy experience.
Bethany Brown
Bethany Brown
2022-07-28
Great quality playset. Arrived quickly. Installation and communication through J&R Mulch Waynesboro PA was excellent
Allison Hickman
Allison Hickman
2022-06-23
If you ever need a swingset installed in your backyard or anywhere, you MUST get it from here.
Steven Rice
Steven Rice
2022-01-25
We have been trying to purchase one of these play sets for months and none of the dealers in our area will call us back about purchasing one. I wish the purchasing process was easier than "find a vendor in your local area". No one here wants to build them! The Happy Hideout looks like an amazing product for my toddler to grow into. I'm sad no one will build them or call us back. Edit: The company contacted me personally and found a vendor in my area!
Charlotte Doty
Charlotte Doty
2022-01-19
Great people to work with and high quality! Highly recommend, my kids love their new play house!
Ashley McGinnis
Ashley McGinnis
2021-12-24