What better way to beat the heat and get children outside than water games? Below you will find an optimum list, by age, of water activities.

Times have changed in the last few decades. It used to be that in the summer all children did was play outside. Lately, it seems that outdoor play is declining and giving way to more sedentary lifestyles with electronics. Outdoor play is so important though! The connection children gain to the environment promotes healthy growth.

According to The National Library of Medicine, while playing outside, children benefit from being exposed to sunlight, natural elements, and open-air, which contributes to bone development, stronger immune system, and physical activity.

That being said, it’s summer! What better way to beat the heat and get children outside than water games? Below you will find an optimum list, by age, of water activities all children will enjoy.

Pathways.org says water play allows children to explore and interact with each other. New experiences and discovering new things within shared spaces offer a great opportunity for social development. As children play, they will be excited to communicate their discoveries to everyone around them. This is a confidence booster for little kids!

Swimming Pool Bullseye: Fill up a kiddie pool with water and put a small inflated inner tube in it. Kids can play alone or together by throwing balls and trying to land them in the inner tube. This is a great activity for gross motor and visual spatial development.

Letter Smack: For this, you put foam letters in a water bin. Your toddler will need a mini fly swatter or pancake flipper of sorts. You call out a letter and they smack it. This is a fun and exciting way to learn letters and prepare for preschool.

Dishwasher: This requires two bins of water. First, you fill one with soapy water, gather some play dishes or little toys, and put them in. Next, you need a rinse tub of clean water. You can use sponges, toothbrushes, bottle brushes, or anything they can use to clean the dirty toys with, and then rinse and dry. This will encourage gross and fine motor skills, and also teach them about responsibility and chores.

Water Transfer: This requires different vessels that can hold water. A variety of sizes works best, but whatever you have is fine. Toddlers can transfer water from one vessel to another. This doesn’t need to be done by only pouring it, they could use spoons, measuring cups, or even soak a sponge in one and wring it out in another. This will enhance motor skills and dexterity.

Water Table: There are so many things you can do with water tables; they can provide hours of fun for little ones. Busy Bees: Australia's Leading Early Learning & Childcare Center encourages water play stating it benefits hand and eye coordination, teaches math and science concepts, enhances concentration and focus, develops motor skills and sensory exploration, as well as builds social and communication skills.

Funnels, Squirt Bottles, and Sieves: Using these different tools with water can be fun and interactive play for toddlers. It allows them to use their imagination, sense of wonder, and motor skills.

School Aged Children may be swimming at this point, but that is not the only type of water activity they should utilize. According to Dimensions of Early Childhood, free play with water can build the foundation for an understanding of a multitude of scientific concepts, including those in:

Drip, Drip, Drop: This is a water version of Duck, Duck, Goose. The child has a cup of water. They will walk around the circle dripping water on everyone's head while saying drip. Once they have chosen a person, they will yell. Drop and dump all the water on their head. Then the wet player must chase.

Water Balloons: Between tossing, squishing, and popping, water balloons can provide hours of fun. There are quite a few games that can be made up using them, but even just a water balloon toss can be exhilarating.

Toe Rings: Fill up a kiddie pool (or larger) and toss diving rings in the bottom. Players have to see how many rings they can pick up in a certain time using only their toes.

Sink Or Float: Gather objects of different densities and make a hypothesis if they will sink or float. Some items may be trickier than children think, it's a great way to learn while having fun.

Water Guns: A classic water gun fight usually tops the list.

As children get older their likes and dislikes may change, but one thing that seems to hold true is the love of water play. Teens and tweens enjoy it just as much as the little ones. According to The American Psychological Association, being in nature provides stress reduction and attention restoration. Not only that, they also say kids who spend time outdoors have a reduced risk of many psychiatric disorders later in life, including depression, mood disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and substance use disorder.

Water Balloon Dodge Ball: Just like regular Dodge Ball, but with a thrilling twist, water balloons!

Bucket Balance: Four kids are needed for this game. They lie down on their backs in a small circle with their legs sticking up in the air. (Their feet should be touching at the top, making a kind of table). Put a full bucket of water on their feet. The aim is for all the kids to remove their shoes within the given time limit without spilling the bucket of water.

Tug of War: Play tug of war with a kiddie pool of water in the middle. Whoever loses gets wet.

Capture the Flag: This is a classic game that most kids already know how to play. The goal is to capture the flag of the opposing team. The difference here though is using water balloons to capture your opponents. If one team enters the other team's territory, they risk getting hit with a water balloon and thus being captured until one of their teammates tags them out.

Fill the Cup: With this exciting race game, teams compete to fill the cup (or bucket) fastest. Soak a sponge, then race to the empty cup and squeeze the water out. Whichever team can fill the cup first, wins.

Sprinkler Twister: Roll out the giant plastic mat from the regular Twister, but add a sprinkler to the mix. The slippery surface will make it more challenging and fun to get from left-hand-yellow to right-foot-blue.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says to skip sunscreen pills, and online recipes use sunscreen that is labeled “broad-spectrum” with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. Apply sunscreen before children go outside, and reapply every two hours or after swimming, towel drying, or sweating, the AAP says.

It’s best to keep children out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. But when kids are outdoors at the hottest time of day, make sure they take breaks in the shade and drink plenty of water.

Sources: The National Library of Medicine, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Psychological Association, Dimensions of Early Childhood, Busy Bees: Australia's Leading Early Learning & Childcare Center ,

I am the mother of four boys. They were all born very premature. Two singletons and twins. I am very passionate about raising awareness for prematurity and mother's mental health. One of my sons has special needs as well. I have seen a different kind of motherhood than most, but very much enjoy writing articles to help parents of all kinds.