With health agencies across the world warning of the potential crisis of child obesity there has never been a better time to encourage your child to follow healthy, happy and energetic lives. In the past encouraging youngsters was never a difficult job, with limited hours of kid's T.V, no computer based games and a range of local government maintained parks and playgrounds children would naturally meet with friends and participate in active and energetic games. Unfortunately nowadays encouraging a child to play outdoors is be a serious uphill battle and one that is all to often left too late. By encouraging a child to play outdoors at a young age they will quickly realise the amount of fun they can have and start good habits they can take through childhood. It is sad that in modern society many parents are concerned about children playing outdoors away from home and that most local government recreation parks and playgrounds have been closed in recent years. The ideal solution in this event is to have outdoor games and play equipment children can use in their own garden with friends and family.

In the past outdoor games consisted of a bat and ball or a fishing net and lots of imagination, happily today the outdoor toy market is massive and the choice of toys on the market makes sure there is something for everyone. Encouraging your child to play outdoors needn't be pricey though. By teaching them basic games from yesteryear such as What Time Is It Mr Wolf, British Bulldogs or even Hide And Seek you are able to get the kids playing energetically for peanuts!

If you are looking to purchase a fewtoys to stimulate your child in outdoor play then there are some fantastic toys out there to ignite your child's imagination. For toddlers sandboxes are a great buy to make. Almost any child can benefit from playing in a sandbox and at the same time develop key motor skills as they scoop, build or even just run their fingers through the sand. Very young toddlers have a penchant to place everything they grasp in their mouths so good lookout will be necessary until they getout of this problem. Sandboxes have also developed over the years from the ubiquitous cheap plastic 'shell' shape popular in the 1980's and you can now find a range of products including stylish timber sandboxes, sandpit tables where children can sit on a bench to play in the sand, and even transportable sandpits that can be kept in the garage or shed when not being used. One rule to watch when selecting sand for your sandbox is to purchase designated 'play sand' that has been rinsed and processed to strip out staining clay components and to ensure it clean and gentle to a child's. One other benefit of purchasing a wooden sandbox is that once the youngsters have outgrown it you can utilise it as an attractive raised flowerbed and recover your garden!

Another newcomer to the UK has been cedar climbing frames or 'Swingsets' from the US and Canada These structures are constructed from a range of woods with the better quality ones being made from cedar and redwood and come in a fantastic selection of designs, sizes and prices. There are two different sort of timber playcentre on the market; boxed or modular. Boxed swingsets from companies such as Adventure Playsets sell a single swingset that will have all the elements you need to build it in the box and lets anybody with basic tool skills to make a superb wood play centre. Modular playcentres such as those from Rainbow Play Systems and Backyard Adventures empower the buyer to pick components that combine together to make their unique custom climbing frame. The main distinction are quality and price. The boxed playcentres are priced from three hundred pounds to £3000 in contrast the modular playcentres are two thousand pounds to £25000+. The modular playcentres do tend to be of a higher quality and come with longer warranties. The other key difference is that boxed playcentres are produced to be installed by the buyer whereas modular sets are usually built by dedicated build teams approved by the company. The benefit of a cedar climbing frame is that they survive for decades with many being guaranteed for 10 or sometimes 20 years ensuring the swingset will last beyond your child's childhood years.

If your budget is much tighter than that of a wooden climbing frame then don't panic there are outdoor games that should have youngsters having fun actively that cost less than a fiver. In the summer water pistols are a brilliant accessory and will have youngsters running around after each other for hours using up calories and producing agile and powerful muscles to boot

This is simply a brief selection of ideas with hundreds of additional toys to drive your youngsters to play actively outside that we don't have room to mention. I hope though this article will assist to develop your interest in getting the youngsters off the Xbox and into the back yard and help make your child's future much healthier and happier