Outdoor & Active Play

The case for outdoor and active play is one of the most robust in developmental science — and one of the least controversial. Regular physical activity in early childhood supports gross motor development, cardiovascular health, emotional regulation, and social skill-building. ¹ Unstructured outdoor play, specifically, has been linked to improvements in executive function — the set of cognitive skills that let children plan, focus, and manage impulses. ²

The products in this category range from balance bikes and climbing structures to water tables and backyard games. What they share is a primary design goal of getting children moving, and we evaluate them with two things in constant tension: adventure and safety. A product that’s so cautious it bores a four-year-old is failing at its job. A product that exposes children to unnecessary physical risk is failing at something more important. The best outdoor toys find the line — what developmental psychologists call “risky play” — where challenge and safety coexist. ³

This is also the category where Dr. Rachel Torres, our safety expert, earns her keep. Outdoor products present unique safety considerations: fall heights, tip-over risks, entrapment hazards, UV exposure for material degradation, and the fact that children will use these products in ways the manufacturer never imagined. Every product in this category receives a detailed safety evaluation.

What We Evaluate

• Gross motor engagement. Does this product genuinely promote physical activity, or is it outdoor furniture marketed as a toy?
• Safety. Fall heights, structural stability, material durability under weather exposure, and compliance with ASTM outdoor play equipment standards.
• Developmental range. How long will this product remain challenging and interesting as the child grows?
• Parent practicalities. Assembly complexity, storage requirements, footprint, and weather resistance. An outdoor toy that can’t survive outside is a design failure.

Footnotes

1. Timmons, B. W., et al. (2012). “Systematic review of physical activity and health in the early years (aged 0–4 years).” Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 37(4), 773–792. ↩

2. Becker, D. R., et al. (2014). “Physical activity, self-regulation, and early academic achievement in preschool children.” Early Education and Development, 25(1), 56–70. ↩

3. Sandseter, E. B. H. (2009). “Affordances for risky play in preschool: The importance of features in the play environment.” Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(5), 439–446. ↩