There is nothing that will contribute to summer fun, particularly among kids, like water toys. Whether you are using water pool toys, squirt guns, or lawn water features, playing with water is one of the greatest joys of childhood. When I was a kid, we used to keep it simple. We would just run around in the sprinkler all day. My parents had a very big lawn to take care of, and they were constantly watering it. As such, the sprinkler always made for a convenient water toy. They didn't really want us to have squirt guns, but we would always find a way of saving up money on our own and going out and picking one up. We would have squirt gun fights, or just through glasses of water at each other. Sometimes, we would take the sprinkler off of the hose and squirt each other. Whoever got the hose always won the water fight.
Nowadays, water toys are much more complicated than they were when I was a kid. As a matter of fact, my kids have some of the coolest water toys that I have ever seen. We have an outdoor pool in the backyard, so as you can imagine there's plenty of opportunity to play in the water. My toddler has, of course, water baby toys. For little kids, water wings are not just a toy – they are a necessity for swimming. They require constant supervision, as they can fail when you least expect it, but they are still great for giving kids freedom to move around in the water.
My older kids use different kinds of water toys. They like water noodles, inflatable mattresses, and paddle boards. They love to paddle up to each other, holding onto inflatable toys, and try to knock each other over. Although every once in a while this play gets rough, usually it is mostly harmless.
In spite of the aboveground pool, one of the most popular water toys at my house is the Slip and Slide. Although these toys have changed a lot since I was a child, the essential principle is the same. It is a big mat, covered with water, down which kids can slide. It is a wild ride, sort of like having a water slide but on flat land. You have to set them up carefully, however. If you don't make sure that there's nothing sharp on the lawn, kids can get cut on it. Nothing will ruin your day like that!
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