Summer toys

Does anyone have some ideas of good/fun summer toys for 2.5 year olds? The weather is getting so much nicer over here but my kids don't have much to play with outside, they have those ride on toys that you push with your feet but they are already too big for them. They also have the power wheels from last year but they don't even work as well anymore.

Any advice on bicycles for 2.5 year olds or other fun toys we can buy? I'm thinking of buying them a water table, sprinklers and a pool but aside from that?

 

My kids are around that age. They love the water table also. We also have a playset with swings and slides - they like that too but they get bored with it easily. They have the Strider balance bikes and they love those, they use them every day including inside when it's cold or rainy. They also have scooters and tricycles but they don't like those as much yet. They also have the Extreme Coaster and they love that one as well. My neighbors 6 and 8 year olds love that one also, so we hope we will use it for a long time, we got it last year.

 

Thank u! I was looking into getting a swing set but was wondering if they would get bored of it easily. Last year we got them a bouncing house/slide with a pool. It's really big but we don't take it out on a daily basis. How are the balance bikes? I've only just recently heard of those. No one I know has one. I know it's for balance but is it like a bike where they have to push with their feet? Or is the point of it just to learn balance and not ride it? Sorry a little confused here.

 

I understand your confusion about balance bikes. I saw this video on youtube once, and this is how I found balance bikes, I had no idea they existed before - I was researching the Extreme Coaster at the moment. There are countless videos of toddlers on balance bikes on Youtube, they are funny to watch. My kids started walking on them at the beginning, but now they can glide similar to what this boy is doing. After a while on these, they should be able to ride regular bikes without any training wheels but I am afraid to try it, my kids only had these since Christmas. My friend's 6 year old son was still using his training wheels on his regular bike and the first time he saw my kids' balance bikes he tried it for about 10 minutes and then he took his training wheels off. We were all impressed how fast he got it. These bikes are adjustable on height so we can hope to use them next year also - I read reviews of kids still using them at 4 or older. I think by then they can ride regular bikes.

By the way the Extreme Coaster is AWESOME also, check out some You tube videos just for fun. My kids love riding it backwards .

I wanted to add that these bikes are VERY light and low so even if they fall, it's not bad.

 

My 18 month old has a mini trampoline that he LOVES. It was about $60 and it's 3 ft across. Other than that, we have a kiddie pool and a water table. I'd love to have a swing set but we rent & move too often.

 

Monica77 thank u loved the video. Now I understand it better. I should of thought of YouTube lol I was thinking of getting them bicycles with training wheels but ill look more into the balance bikes now. And my neighbor has the coaster but i think hers is smaller than the one u showed me. The girls went on it once and loved it too. Thank you for all your ideas.

And I was thinking of getting a smaller trampoline. But I don't want it to small and the big ones are so pricey lol

 

I agree with balance bikes.

We have a swing, a slide and a large sandbox (big enough for a ride-on digger) - mine get hours of play out of them, especially if it is warm enough to add water to the mix! But you have to be prepared to accept that they get really wet and dirty ...

 

A water table! Mine have played with their water table since the summer they were 16 months old - and still play with it at 5.

 

Not sure how I feel about a sandbox. I'm imagining all the sand in my house ://

Thank you everyone! Gotta start shopping soon!

 

I've only put water in the table- no sand. Sand actually isn't too bad as it brushes off really easily.

 

We have pretty much everything here, wooden swingset, trampoline, bikes, scooters, watertable ect but the more basic the toy the more it gets played with.
My girls love digging so we have lots of shovels, rakes, buckets and trucks that they can fill up. We also have a rock box filled with rocks that they can dig in. This is the stuff that occupies them the longest.
We also have lots of different types of balls. The girls love kicking the soccer ball around.

 

I forgot to mention the mini trampoline, we have that one also, but it's inside . They loved it in the beginning, now they go on it rarely, but once in a while we play loud music and they jump in there. We also have spring rocking horses - same thing with those, they loved them for a month or two, and now, meh, they go on them once in a while. Did I mention my house looks like a TOYS R' US threw up in there ?

 

Trucks (dump trucks, bulldovers etc.), water table, buckets and shovels (dollar aisle at target), wading pool, sprinkler, two hoses and a spliter for the facet, PVC pipe cut in equal but different lengths plus the connectors with different angles. My two prefer to use the hoses then to play in the wading pool. I let them wander all over with them. Takes care of watering the yard!

Our back yard has two big shade trees and no grass or weeds grow under them so they have tons of dirt to dig and play in. I bought them three inch round stones that they use with the dirt and construction vehicles. This year I bought some top soil to spread under the trees to provide a bit more loose dirt plus some larger PVC pipe for their smaller trucks to make tunnels. Honestly my two play with the shovels and trucks in the dirt more than anything else unless the water is turned on. In the summer I just hose them off.

Same with sand (we don't have any in our backyard but my mother does) I just strip them to their undies if they are not already in swim suits and spray them off with the hose.

 

We have a big wooden swing set, a trampoline, sand box, basketball hoop, sand and water table (that has sand only, when you add water they just like to mix them into a muddy mess), and we'll be getting a small pool again this summer.

My kids could spend hours in the sand alone. They got new sand toys for easter and can't wait to play in the sand box! We're expanding it so all 4 kids fit in it so it's not really "playable" yet. Also, they love playing basketball, jump rope, and bubbles, oh and sidewalk chalk! You should see my patio/deck/deck swing right now. They had the chalk outside yesterday and everything is a colorful mess! LOL Thankfully chalk washes off so easily it's no big deal!

 

Sand box,water table, maybe swing/slide. Our sand box is new but so far we haven't had ttouble with it getting all over the place. It brushes right off of our clothes before we go inside.

 

we have tricycles, balance bikes, and 12" bikes. They love their bikes. we always go to park for bike time. We also have a playset (slides and tunnels), play house, sand box, water table and swings on the back yard. they like playing in the back yard for about 30 mins and get bored. They prefer playing at the park or playground with their friends more. So I have been thinking of getting rid of some of the outdoor toys.

If you get slide, I suggest get some small baby pool. You can fill it with ball, they will love to slide in ball pool. Or in the summer, you can fill it up with water. Its a lot of fun. My kids always love it. And swings are the must. All kids love swings. GL

 

Thank you so much everyone for your ideas. They all sound great. I'm sure my kids will be excited about the new toys