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Best Outdoor Toys 2024 – Forbes Vetted
Even if you’re not lucky enough to have your own pool or a huge yard, the best outdoor toys—from toddler toys to high-action games for big kids—get your kids running, jumping, climbing, throwing, swinging and using their imaginations. Just don’t forget to layer on the sunscreen to protect their skin. Here, we’ve rounded up the best outdoor toys in 2024.
All sorts of items are fun to play with in the sandbox, from little plastic shovels to animal toys, but the Haba Sand Play Dump Truck makes any truck lover thrilled to have an outdoor counterpart to their indoor vehicle collection. Designed for kids 18 months and older and made to last for years, this truck is destined to become a reliable hand-me-down toy for younger siblings. In fact, Haba guarantees the truck for five full years of toting sand, water, rocks and more. It’s made from polypropylene plastic that is BPA-, PVC- and phthalate-free.
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Then I organized their recommendations by age, from babies and toddlers under 2 all the way up to tweens. The resulting list includes toys for water play (a Squishmallow axolotl sprinkler ), toys for bouncing and practicing balance (a foam pogo stick ), and toys for playing make-believe (a miniature wooden cottage with a real working doorbell). All of the toys below are designed to encourage and amplify outdoor fun, and many of them have been tested by me or another Strategist parent. Some of them can be used indoors as well. And in almost every case, they have educational and developmental benefits in addition to letting kids get dirty and run wild.
It may be obvious, but kids thrive in the sandbox — “a place where they get to create fun and adventure with the natural resources around them,” says Mike Conners, a junior kindergarten teacher at Burgundy Farm Country Day School . The Little Tikes Turtle sandbox, with its pleasingly familiar design and easy-to-secure cover, has been a high-quality favorite among parents for decades. Sensory play (whether it involves water , sand, or Play-Doh) is an excellent antidote to screens and a calming experience for toddlers who at this age are beginning to reckon with lots of big feelings.
This expandable crawl tunnel is a perfect “bring to the park” toy and has long held a spot in our guide to the best toys for 1-year-olds because of the way it elicits giggles while teaching young toddlers about spatial awareness and object permanence. The tunnel offers six feet of play space, and collapses into a flat carrying case when it’s not in use.
