Kids love cooling off under water come summer. When the sun’s beating down but you don’t want to come inside, a lot of families gravitate towards cool-down sources like a pool. Few backyards have pools though.
If you don’t have a pool at home with you, no worries! There are so many ways to work around that. If you don’t have an in-ground pool, try an above-ground pool. If that’s out of your price range or whatever the reason is, here are some other ideas you can use to help your children enjoy themselves in the next heat wave that comes along.
- A double lane inflatable dragstrip water slide does take up a bit of space but it’s an investment all the neighborhood kids can make use of, if that’s your style. Set it up in a common area accessible to the kids you want to use it.
The only thing to be careful of are any sort of debris poking up from the ground. They’ll be running and sliding across the watery surface. If there’s a nail, a rock, or something similar, it can easily cause an injury and/or tear a hole in your slide. - A sprinkler and some beach toys. It sound simple but this is an awesome substitute to a pool. A sprinkler costs very little. It rotates a spray across the yard which can be fun to get nabbed with or, alternatively, to avoid.
Add into the mix a beach volleyball game or various backyard-friendly physical activities and you can have a really nice couple of hours cooling off under the stream of a sprinkler.
- Have a water balloon fight. If left unmonitored, a water balloon battle can get out of control very quickly. Before you start, fill up all the balloons. You don’t want to be refilling partway through the game. Ensure everyone has an equal amount of balloons.
Some ground rules also need to be established, i.e. no malicious throwing, no aiming for the private areas or the face, and no physicality outside of throwing a water balloon. So long as everyone follows the rules, this is another fun way to spend an afternoon. - Squirt guns. Squirt guns, like water balloon fights, can get pretty intense. They are also comparatively more expensive than a collection of water balloons so that’s something to think about as well. A squirt gun fight is more for older kids and adults even. A lot of ground rules definitely need to be set for this one. Think of it like a paintball game, except it’s summer-specific.
Are you looking for new ways to spend your summer? Check out ShopperPlus.ca for water fun, summer accessories, BBQ, fitness, and more. Pick up what you need to play, entertain, and indulge.
