“I can never overemphasize the appeal of classic outdoor toys like a good, sturdy trike,” says Tracy Camp-Johnston, who is an early childhood educator at Burgundy Farm Country Day School with 25 years of teaching experience. It is a crucial part of teaching him that’s where you need him to sleep. The Little Tikes version, with its pleasingly familiar design and built-in molded seats and easy-to-secure cover, has been a high-quality favorite among parents for ages – and when it comes to an investment that’s going to get as much use as a sandbox, this is a case where you’ll want to go with an established winner. Perfect for the 2- to 4-year-old range, but also, notes Imperator, “they can support up to 220 pounds so that parents can take them for a spin.” The self-moving element is important developmentally, according to Scott. Still, also, it makes it much harder to lose control and risk accident and injury, which can happen with ride-on toys that start rolling out of control.
Schacht of the Toy Insider loves how it “encourages parents and children to spend time together on the hunt for treasures.” While a functional tool, this metal detector was 100 percent designed with kids in mind. Making them allows one to get creative and take the time to customize different parts of it so that it fits best for the child and mother. It is small and lightweight for little bodies to handle for hours on end and affordable enough to where parents won’t mind if it’s dropped a time or ten during the archaeological outings. Sandboxes also allow parents or other caregivers to curate play, introducing objects that help teach colors, numbers or encourage fine-motor development. On rainy days, when you can’t bury objects on the beach or in the woodchips at the park, John recommends covering them with a sheet and playing anywhere you have room in the house.
The handles’ tops are coated in rubber that makes them even kazi blocks toys better suited for no-slip gripping each rubber covering has a hook that allows for equally easy hanging on the wall. The Radio Flyer trike is stable enough to prevent most tip-overs, yet it still allows kids to get plenty of exercise and enjoy some feeling of speed and freedom. Dr. Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, the associate director of Bank Street College of Education’s Straus Center for Young Children & Families, reminds us that the best outdoor toys help kids “observe nature and build science concepts that get so overlooked. Inside.” Some aspects of nature and science can only be observed come nightfall, where this cute headlamp comes in.
