With health organisations across the world warning of the potential surge of child obesity there has never been a better time to encourage your child to live wholesome, happy and energetic lives. Prior to the arrival of specific children's television channels, video games and computers children would naturally go to play outdoors with friends participating in a wide range of energetic group activities. Unfortunately these days motivating a child to play outdoors is be a real uphill battle and one that is sometimes left too late. By encouraging a child to play outdoors from an early age they will quickly realise the amount of fun they can have and start healthy habits the child can carry through childhood. With the shutting down of many local government run parks and playgrounds and rising publicity about violence on Britain's streets some parents are not willing to allow children play away from the home. The ideal solution in this case is to have outdoor toys and play equipment they can use in their own garden with friends and family.

The days of going outside with a skipping rope are without doubt over with internet aware children yearning for something that can compete with a Xbox game. Thankfully the modern outdoor toy industry is enormous with something for all children and prices for all purses. However prior to parting with any money on toys you could attempt a little history and attempt to interest children in old fashioned back garden games from yesteryear such as What Time IS It Mr Wolf, Hide And Seek or Rounders all of which require little or no play equipment to play and are very energetic.

If you are think about buying some outdoor toys to help stimulate your kids outside then there are a superb selection of toys to assist you. Sandpits are a fantastic choice for toddlers children. Once a youngster can sit unassisted they can take pleasure in the fun of playing with sand, constructing castles, running it through their fingers and toys and building essential motor skills at the same time. Very small children have a propensity to shove anything they grasp in their mouths so a watchful eye will be essential until they getout of this problem. The selection and quality of sandboxes has altered massively since the early 1980'swhen the ugly 'shell' sandpit was all you could find. Nowadays you can find stylish wood sandboxes, picnic benches that hide sandboxes beneath the table top and even flexible smaller sandpits that can be stored in the shed or garage and carried out whenever required. One thing to watch when selecting sand for your sandpit is to buy specific 'play sand' that has been rinsed and processed to remove staining clay particles and to make it clean and gentle to a youngsters. One other benefit of buying a wood sand pit is that once the youngsters have outgrown it you can utilise it as an attractive raised flowerbed and reclaim your garden!

A new addition to the British outdoor toy market have been timber climbing frames or 'Swingsets' from Northern America. These climbing frames are constructed from a variety of timbers with the better quality ones being constructed from cedar and redwood and are available in a fantastic choice of styles, sizes and prices. These wooden play centres are available in two types; modular or pre-boxed. The boxed climbing frames from designers such as Adventure Playsets include all the components you need to construct a brilliant stand alone wooden climbing frame without professional assistance in your own back yard. Modular playcentres such as those from Backyard Adventures and Rainbow Play Systems permit the parent to choose modules that combine together to make their unique custom set up. The distinction between the two is quality, (with the modular sets normally being of somewhat improved wood) and cost with boxed sets costing from two hundred to a couple of thousand pounds and modular sets costing from a couple of thousand to over twenty thousand pounds. The other important differentiation is that unlike boxed climbing frames which are self build kits the modular option usually requires a salesman visiting to view the site, helping you to build a design and then having a dedicated erection team construct your swingset as part of the price. With ten or fifteen year warranties you can be happy that whichever type you choose your playcentre will easily last beyond your kid's childhood years.

If your finances are much more modest than that of a swingset then don't panic there are outdoor toys that should have youngsters playing actively that cost just a few pounds. When the sun starts to shine a basic waterpistol can be enough to encourage the youngsters racing about the garden after each other using up energy and creating active bodies.

This is just the tip of the iceberg with a multitude of other toys to drive your youngsters to play actively outdoors that we don't have time to discuss. With any luck though this article will assist to stimulate your interest in getting the youngsters off the Nintendo and into the back yard and help make their future much healthier and happier