Getting the kids outside and active in winter can be hard. Our boys play football at the weekends and we occasionally manage to drag them out for a winter walk but other than that you will find them inside, usually playing computer games or watching films. Character toys know that this can be an issue for families in winter but they also know that kids should be outside having fun so they’ve created a stay active range and sent us the moon shoes and slingball to review.
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There are so many benefits to being active and even more to being active outdoors. These include
- Improved mental health
- Fresh air
- Increases metabolism
- Improved movement, balance, coordination, and reaction time
- Improved social skills, self-esteem, and confidence
- Having fun and laughter
Despite knowing all these benefits most people, myself included, will opt for the warmth of indoors instead of venturing out for exercise but when the activity that awaits is so much fun it is a lot easier to persuade everyone to grab their coat and head out to the garden. Plus, you’ll soon warm up if you’re moving enough.
The stay active this winter range
The range includes lots of different types of toys, all of which are designed to get you moving and having fun, some can even be used inside if the weather is really bad. The majority of the stay active range is aimed at those aged 6 and over including the Slingball, the Kickerball and the Hip Hoppa but some are aimed at older children like the Moon shoes which are aimed at ages 7 and over.
Moon shoes
The moon shoes look great fun as soon as you see the box. Connor couldn’t wait to try them. However, I will point out that you need to physically build these yourself which I wasn’t expecting! They aren’t hard to put together, but the diagram on the instructions is more confusing then helpful in my opinion. Basically, have the yellow part of the shoe on the ground then take the sole of the purple shoe and thread the elastic bands through the gaps and then stretch them over the black pegs on the top outer side of the shoe. Only add the minimum number of bands if you have a lighter child and then build them up for heavier children.
Once we figured out what we were doing they only took about 10 minutes to build.
The moon shoes themselves are great fun. They are a little tricky to get used to and you need to have a good core and some balance plus the ability to laugh at yourself. You can (just about) walk in them and the have loads of fun jumping in them. I suggest you practice on grass or even the carpet before you head out to the patio!
Slingabll
The slingball is a two-player game and is great to get you moving. It comes with two nets and two slingballs although you only need one to play so I suggest you put the second one somewhere safe so you have a spare for when the first ends up a tree!
We loved this game, and it certainly warmed us up running back and forth trying to catch the ball in our nets. It’s easy to use, you simply hook the ball over the huck, pull back and let go as you watch it fling its way over to your opponent for them to try and catch. The hardest part is trying to control it if you are playing in the back garden as it can go as high as 60ft! This is one of those toys that can be used at home but will also make a great travel toy for camping, beach days or even when heading to the local field so you can really let it fly.
Overall, we were impressed with both the toys we were sent and definitely think they will be great for all year-round activity and perfect for enticing the children away from their technology to have a laugh and breath in some fresh air.
These stay active in winter range is available now in Argos, Smyths and Amazon.