Backyard Water Games to Keep your Kids Busy All Summer Long
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Banana Boat® and OFF!®. The opinions and texts are all mine.
Water games are the ultimate in summer fun and the perfect way to cool down on a hot day.
On those days when you just want to chill out in your backyard, these backyard water games will cool you down without ever leaving home.
My family just made the move from the beach to the desert and it has been a huge adjustment getting used to temperatures over 100 degrees. My kids have been spending a lot of time playing in the water in the backyard to cool off and I’m sure we have several months of backyard water games in our future.
For my fair-skinned kids, we have to make sure we have some essentials on hand before we can play in the backyard. I swear I can burn in 5 minutes flat and a few of my kids seem to have inherited my skin.
Without some protection we’d never last more than a few minutes outside each day.
When I heard there was going to be a heatwave here I knew we needed to load up the kids and head to Walmart for some supplies so we were ready for lots of water fun.
I have a few basics I make sure I have covered whenever we are going to be outside:
- sun protection
- insect repellent
With our skin, sun protection is a given. I never used to mess with insect repellent but the current news has me a bit nervous so I want to make sure my kids are protected.
We stocked up on Banana Boat® Sun Comfort spray and OFF!® insect repellent at Walmart to make sure we wouldn’t miss out on any water fun during this heatwave.
I love the Sun Comfort line because it moisturizes while providing safe and effective broad spectrum UVA and UVA protection. My skin is super sensitive and always dries out in the sun so this makes my skin so much happier at the end of a long day in the sun.
It’s a good thing we did because my kids didn’t waste any time jumping in the water as soon as we got home from the store.
Need some ideas for backyard water games? These are some of our favorites:
Paint with water
For younger kids, a paintbrush and a bucket of water is all you need for some summer water fun. Kids can “paint” with water on the cement and leave no mess behind! This keeps my kids busy for hours every summer and it never gets old.
Water balloon Sharks and Minnows
You really can’t go wrong with water balloon fights but you can take it a step further by playing a variation of sharks and minnows using water balloons. Kids have a blast playing this and everyone gets a chance to cool off.
Dry, Dry, Wet
Remember Duck, Duck, Goose? I loved playing that as a kid! Turn it into a water game by playing Dry, Dry, Wet instead. This is a blast if you have a group of kids. Use a sponge filled with water if you don’t want to get soaked or a bucket of water if you do.
Sponge Toss
Remember egg tosses? You can turn it into a water game with wet sponges. Soak sponges on water and have kids line up in two rows, facing each other. Toss the sponges back and forth. If the sponge drops, that team is out. By the end the winning team will be soaking wet.
Make a water slide
You can make your own water slide using a tarp and some dish soap (to make it extra slippery) or there are some great backyard water slide toys that you can find in the stores. My kids have loved racing each other, doing tricks, and more. By the end of the day they are nice and tired too!
Make your own Sprinkler
Use a pool noodle to make a fun sprinkler to run through. Punch holes on the side of the pool noodle, tape off one end so there are no leaks, and tape the other end onto a hose securely. Turn the water on and your kids will have fun for hours!
Do you have any great backyard water games you love to play?
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