According to the American Heart Association, “Inactive children are likely to become inactive adults”. The AHA recommends that children above the age of 2 should participate in “at least 60 minutes of (enjoyable), moderate to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity every day”. How can parents help their children become more active? One way is to provide them with areas of play in and around the home, including outdoor aerobic activity. What better way to do that than to add a jungle gym, swing set, or a basketball hoop to your very own backyard environment.
Today’s jungle gyms have come a long way from the large, heavy, metal structures found on playgrounds in days past. Not only are the jungle gyms sold today made out of heavy duty materials and wood, they can be purchased in bright, fun colors. The best part of jungle gyms are the flexibility they have to create the perfect outdoor structure that the entire family can enjoy. Most jungle gyms have add-on accessories such as tunnels, slides and picnic tables that can increase the fun and grow with the child. This flexibility of having the ability to go smaller or grow larger, plus having different color options, ensures that today’s jungle gyms can fit into most any backyard size and setting. For younger children, smaller jungle gyms can be placed inside the house for hours of enjoyment and exercise, especially when the outdoors cannot be accessed.
Another great way to bring kids and parents together in a fun and active way is to go outside and play basketball or play on a swing. Outdoor basketball equipment and swings do not have to be costly. A basketball hoop and a ball are all that is needed to get a healthy game of “horse,” or other exciting basketball games started. A swing can be secured to a sturdy tree, or can be created within an entire play structure, some even being added to an existing jungle gym, depending on budget and amount of backyard play room. Toronto’s Play Rainbow has several basketball net additions to traditional jungle gyms meaning that you can provide your children and family with a jungle gym experience and the ability to shoot hoops in the yard, all with one simple purchase.
A study taken of 8,950 children and released in the April 2 Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine published in 2012 found that only 51 percent of children played outside daily with a parent. The chance of both parents and children enjoying time together in an outdoor environment increases when outdoor basketball equipment, swings or a jungle gym from Play Rainbow are within easy reach and in the privacy of your own home or backyard. And what better way to get the entire family out of the house, away from computers and video games and into the great outdoors than with the latest options in basketball equipment from Play Rainbow! Your whole family will be happy and healthy with basketball equipment from a trusted play care provider.
