This post is sponsored by Valpak but opinions are my own. #ValpakSaves
Every time we visit our local playground, my children make new friends… and so do I. Playgrounds are an important place for your child to develop social skills as well as grow in physical fitness, but sometimes children are resistant to playing with others and need you to prompt them with a few ideas of playground games for kids to play together.
The fact is, “America’s kids are playing less than any previous generation. As play has decreased, obesity rates and behavioral and cognitive disorders have increased.” [Source]
Ick! So why not pack the kids up and visit a playground today?
Find a Playground Near You
Don’t know where to take your children? New to your area and wondering where a playground is located? Considering a new community and wanting to know more about the playgrounds available?
Use the KaBOOM! Map of Play to find an outdoor play space near you.
Also, help KaBOOM! and others in your community by making sure your local playground is marked on the map.
Lead Playground Games for Kids
Once you’ve located the best playground for your family, gather the children together and show them that playgrounds can be a great place to meet new friends by leading them in a fun playground game.
1. Hot Lava
A great game for involving the imagination, tell children that they cannot touch the ground because it is covered in hot lava and they will get burned. You can create optional rules like, “If you can reach the swings, you can regenerate.”
2. Red Light, Green Light
One child is the traffic light while the other children are cars. When the traffic light calls “red light” and turns away, the cars race forward to get as close as possible to the traffic light. The traffic light calls “green light” and turns to face the cars who must freeze in place. Anyone who moves while the traffic light is watching is out. The last person to be tossed out or the first person to reach the traffic light wins.
3. Hot Buttered Beans
Children choose an object that someone will hide and the other children will seek. As children get close to the object, the person who hid the object can say they are getting “hot.” If they get further away, they are getting “cold.” When a seeker finds the object, they call, “hot buttered beans!”
4. Capture the Flag
With rules that vary from one neighborhood to another, capture the flag typically requires two teams that both have a object called a “flag” and a “home base” where the flag is kept. The object is to take the flag from the opposing team back to your own base. Opponents can be captured or frozen until another member sets them free.
5. Red Rover
Two teams, with hands linked in a single line, face one another with space for running in between. One team calls, “Red rover, red rover, send {insert child’s name} right over.” Then, the selected child must run and break through the joined hands of two opposing team members. If the runner can break through the hands, he then takes one of the opponents back to his team. However, if he cannot break the bond, he must join their team.
6. Bulldogs
A select number of children are chosen to be the “bulldogs” and have the job of tagging the other children to turn them into bulldogs as they try to cross from one side to the other of the designated bulldog area. The last person not tagged by a bulldog wins.
Donate to Build More Playgrounds
Can you imagine a community without a playground? Sadly, many areas are void of places for children to play and explore.
This new initiative is part of Valpak’s mission to not only be a trusted neighbor who connects people with great offers and deals, but to inspire giving back to the community and create environments that promote the importance of play to children of all ages. Through this partnership, Valpak will help support the KaBOOM! mission to ensure all kids get that balanced and active play they need to thrive.
Did you recently get a Valpak envelope? If so, inside you received a coupon with the prompt to go to kaboom.org/valpak to support the effort with as little as a $5 donation to help bring play to neighborhoods in need. If not, no worries! You can join Valpak in providing funds to areas where a playground is needed by clicking to donate now.
What games do your children love to play at the playground?
If you have a fun game to share, drop us a comment!
[…] Picnic Lunch – One of my favorite early or late summer playdate ideas is to simply meet up with friends at a park for a picnic lunch. This is perfect for days where you have something to do in the morning, but would love to have company for the lunch hour. I usually try to avoid the very middle of summer due to heat, and I try to pick parks with plenty of shaded areas. If the kids don’t know each other very well, a good ice breaker could be a simple playground game. […]