First tips & ideas for fun water games with children

Water exerts a special fascination out: They feel it and put their hands into it, but they can't really hold it. No wonder water play is especially popular even with toddlers.

You've probably already tried one or two garden play with your children played. After all, the little play mice love to spend a lot of time outdoors. In the warm season water play fits perfectly.

With colorful water toys like sprinklers, squirting animals & co., children of all ages can be occupied for hours. A water slide also provides huge fun in the garden. A slope is an advantage here, but not absolutely necessary.

You parents will definitely have great fun racing down the slide together with your kids.

However, you don't always need a huge selection of toys for water play. Household items like buckets, laundry baskets or bowls can be turned into great accessories for water play in no time.

As long as you provide enough water, your little water lovers will be happy.

Good to know: You don't have to keep the tap running for splashing fun. Especially toddlers enjoy splashing with little buckets and molds in small puddles or water bowls.

What makes playing with water so special?

Children love to splash and get messy – especially outdoors. Water play in the garden combines both and is a great activity idea for kids of all ages.

If you have concerns about water usage with some games, you can use the opportunity to teach your children about the importance of water to teach them. At primary school age, children are mature enough to understand topics around the most valuable resource for our animal and plant life to understand.

A great side effect of water play is the cooling. On hot summer days, a sprinkler race or a water fight is even more fun. You simply provide refreshment in your own home – and that's often easier to plan spontaneously than a trip to the outdoor pool.

The right equipment: Here's what you need for refreshing water fun in the garden

When playing with water, a connected garden hose of course must not be missing. It gets even more fun when your kids have suitable toys like water play tables. Depending on how much space you have, the toys and garden ideas can also be a bit larger and more extensive.

In smaller gardens or on the balcony, small water toys such as pull-along and squirting toys, cute paddling pools and water buckets are used instead.

When romping around in the fresh air, make sure that your little ones are always protected from UV radiation are. Therefore, sufficient sun protection is one of the must-haves for water play.

You absolutely need the following for your water fun:

• water slide

• shade sail

• sunscreen

• water pistols & squirters

• towels

• sun hat

• UV-protective clothing

• sprinkler

• water track

• garden hose

• water buckets or tubs

• paddling pool

Now it's getting wet: great play ideas with water

Would you like to start playing right away? HABA has the funniest game ideas collected and explains to you with simple instructions, how to best carry out the water games with your children.

The varied game ideas are also suitable for special occasions such as Children's birthdays. As soon as you turn on the tap, you'll become the heroes of your summer kids. So, water on!

Easy water games in the garden

These game ideas are perfect for sunny days during the summer holidays. You can implement them with little effort with both toddlers and older kids. You probably already have everything you need for these simple water games at home and can get started right away.

Guess the water painting

You need:

• a smooth surface (e.g. patio floor or wooden table)

• a string made of natural material

• craft scissors

• bowl of water

Step-by-step instructions:

1. For this simple water game you need a surface where the water shows up well. Suitable examples are a wooden surface, tiles or large stones. Maybe your balcony or patio floor is suitable.

2. Cut off a piece of about 20 centimeters of your string for each player.

3. Fill a bowl with water and wet your strings in it. They should be completely soaked with water.

4. Now start painting: Use the string to draw a motif of your choice. You may need to dip the string back into the water from time to time.

5. The other players try to guess the water painting. Whoever guesses correctly first wins! Don't take too long – in sunshine your artworks dry quickly and disappear like magic.

6. Our tip: You can also play this game easily at the outdoor pool. If your kids have long hair, it will quickly become brushes. The pool edge of the swimming pool is an excellent canvas.

Sponge toss

You need:

• six household sponges

• three household rubber bands

• craft scissors

• a long string or elastic band

• bucket of water

Step-by-step instructions:

1. In the first step, make small balls from household sponges. To do this, cut the sponges on the long sides up to one third with craft scissors.

2. Then place two sponges crossed over each other and secure them with a rubber band. In total you make three small sponge balls this way.

3. Find a suitable spot in your garden for the playing field. To do this, stretch a string or elastic band at your kids' chest height and mark the edge of your field with sticks or border stones.

4. Let your sponges soak up in the water bucket. Then you can start!

5. Throw the wet sponges at each other. Players try to catch and throw the balls back. You get points when a player hits an opponent or the opponent leaves their field while dodging.

6. If the opponent catches the sponge, they throw it back and try to hit their counterpart. Whoever reaches 10 points first wins!

Build a water course

You need:

• Water play track kit

• several buckets of water

• small boats (optional)

• sand (optional)

• garden hose (optional)

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Water tracks are always a hit with children. At HABA you'll find many kits for lots of marble fun. Build an exciting water play track together with your kids from the individual components. Toddlers need support from big hands. Primary school children can already set up the tracks independently.

2. Fill your assembled track with water. If you chose a model with a water circulation system, connect the included pump.

3. Now it's on: With appropriate water toys like small boats or diggers you can play wildly. Boat races, shovel races or construction site play are especially fun.

4. If you wish, you can also add sand to the play so your little ones can happily muck about. Only with water tracks that have an integrated pump do you need to be careful.

Sprinkler fun

You need:

• garden hose

• a lawn

• plastic bottle (PET bottle)

• sharp knife

• adhesive tape

• sprinkler (optional)

Step-by-step instructions:

1. With this game idea cooling down is guaranteed. Using a plastic bottle and strong tape you can build a sprinkler for your garden in no time. Poke a few holes in the bottom of the bottle with a sharp knife. Parents should do that themselves and let the kids watch.

2. Go outside and attach your garden hose to the opening of the plastic bottle. Wrap several layers of tape around it so everything holds well. Lay your sprinkler on the lawn.

3. Then it's water on! As soon as you turn on the tap, water sprays from the holes in the bottle. Your kids will have a blast running through the sprinkler.

Mud kitchen

You need:

• sand or soil

• kitchen utensils

• sand molds

• natural materials like grass, sticks & stones

• water

Step-by-step instructions:

1. This is the classic of water games: mix any amount of mud in your sandbox or a tub. For this you only need sand or soil and some water. Depending on how much water you add, your mud will become more liquid or remain firmer.

2. Give your children utensils for 'cooking' with mud. In a small bucket, a soup is stirred up with lots of water and grass, which the little ones then proudly serve. With suitable molds they conjure up dishes like sand cakes and porridge.

3. Toddlers love to muck about for hours. They really thrive during role-playing of this kind – the more fun it is for them to get dirty in the process.

Boat races

You need:

• small toy boats

• large tub or paddling pool

• squeeze-and-squirt toys or water pistols

• stopwatch (optional)

Step-by-step instructions:

1. For your boat race, first fill a large tub or a small paddling pool with water. Decide which edge is the start and where the finish is.

2. Fill your water pistols and place the small boats at the start. All players stand on a line and get ready. Choose which boat belongs to which player. With many players a small marking is worthwhile.

3. Now go: spray your boats with your water pistols so that they move towards the finish.

4. The player whose boat reaches the finish first wins. If your pool is too small for all players, you can run the boat race one after the other using a stopwatch.

Water games for the children's birthday party

Water games are a great activity idea if you are celebrating your child's birthday at home. Romping together in the garden and cooling off at the same time is great fun for the birthday children and their friends! Below you will find more great instructions for water games.

Water fight

You need:

• filled water balloons

• a long rope

• sticks

• several buckets (optional)

Step-by-step instructions:

1. A water fight must not be missing at any children's birthday in summer. Give each player the same number of filled water balloons. Buckets help you collect the counted water balloons.

2. Use a long rope to define the middle of the playing field. On both sides of the rope, teams line up with their water balloons.

3. If you want, you can further delimit the playing field by marking a border with sticks.

4. On your marks, get set, go: throw water balloons at each other and hope they burst and make your opponents nice and wet. The team that runs out of water balloons first wins!

Apple bobbing

You need:

• large tub or paddling pool

• several whole apples

• stopwatch

Step-by-step instructions:

1. This water game is one of the classics at children's birthday parties. It's super easy to implement and is great fun for all kids. First fill a large tub or paddling pool with water.

2. Then place some apples in it. They float on the surface. Apple slices are better for smaller children.

3. Now play: The player kneels in front of the tub and places their hands on their back. Then they lean over the water and try to catch the apples using only their mouth.

4. The referee, preferably a parent, watches the clock. How many apples do the players fish out in two minutes?

5. Whoever retrieves the most apples from the water within the given time wins this game.

Shovel race

You need:

• two large buckets

• sand molds, cups & shovels

• adhesive tape

• waterproof felt-tip pen

• stopwatch

Step-by-step instructions:

1. In the shovel race it's about transporting as much water as possible from one place to another. To do this, place a filled water bucket at the start and an empty bucket at the finish.

2. All players line up in turn. The first player holds a sand mold or a small shovel in their hand.

3. Then go: He fills his mold with water from the bucket and runs to the destination bucket as many times as he can in one minute. Of course, as much water as possible should arrive there.

4. After that minute, mark the water level with a piece of tape and write the child's name on it.

5. Continue with the next player. Whoever brought the most water to the finish in the end wins!

Slide race

You need:

• garden hose

• water slide

• eco-friendly soap (optional)

• stopwatch (optional)

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Bring the sliding fun from the outdoor pool into your own garden. Slide racing works best if you have a slight slope in your garden. Spread your water slide flat on the ground and secure it with the plastic hooks.

2. Connect your garden hose and turn on the tap. The water jets moisten the track along the entire route.

3. Then slide away: headfirst, on your back or sitting – who slides the fastest? If you wish, you can use a stopwatch to determine exact times.

4. If you want it even wilder, you can put a few drops of soap on the slide. Make sure it is eco-friendly, because the water will eventually seep into the ground.

Can shooting

You need:

• a small table or a large box

• 10 empty tin cans

• water pistols or garden hose

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Set up a small table or a similar surface in your garden. Stack the tin cans on it so that they stand in a pyramid.

2. Measure the distance to the throwing line with five big steps. If you play with a garden hose, the distance should be significantly greater; here you can go about ten steps.

3. Now try to knock down as many cans at once as possible. Show your kids how they can aim the water jet more precisely with the garden hose and their thumb. Each player has three shots per round.

4. Whoever manages to knock over all the cans within three rounds wins. If no one succeeds, simply determine the winner based on the number of cans knocked over.

Obstacle course

You need:

• water balloons or balloons

• materials for obstacles (e.g. chairs, balls, tires)

• stopwatch (optional)

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Build an exciting obstacle course in your garden together with your children. You can let your creativity run free. Build small seesaws and obstacles for hopping or climbing. Make sure the obstacles are safe and not too difficult.

2. Then fill water balloons or balloons with water. The more filled they are, the more challenging the game becomes.

3. All players line up at the start in turn. The first player wedges the filled balloon between their legs and waddles off. They try to master the obstacles without the balloon bursting.

4. Whoever completes the most obstacles or even reaches the finish is crowned the winner!

More play & fun in the garden

Garden ideas for kids

Children love to play in the fresh air. Your garden offers the ideal opportunity to dig in the soil together with your little explorers and experience nature up close. From the building an insect hotel to the children's garden bed – here you'll find great garden ideas for young and old.

Play ideas for the garden

Climbing, romping and exploring nature – your own garden is a real play paradise for children. While water games are very popular in summer, there are many more Play ideas and tips for children in the garden. HABA has compiled a collection for you. Be inspired!

Water games without a garden

Your children are fascinated by water, but unfortunately you have no garden or balcony for extensive water play? With these tips you can still make your kids' eyes light up even without an outdoor oasis.

• Use your bathroom: Your little ones know this place from showering or bathing, but every now and then you can also turn your bathtub into a play area. Toddlers especially like splashing with fun water toys. To avoid the whole room being under water afterwards, it's best to place towels on the floor.

• Discover water playgrounds: In many towns and municipalities there are now adventurous water playgrounds that even impress water-shy children. Explore where the nearest playground of this kind is in your area. If there isn't one nearby, a small outing with your children to the park. There are often small fountains here too where your water rats can play.

• Play fun at the sink: A highlight for toddlers is splashing at the sink in your kitchen. With the help of a learning tower they are finally tall enough to look over the countertop. Just let the tap drip lightly and put a few molds or bowls into the sink. You'll see, the simplest games are often the most exciting.

What to watch out for when playing water games with children

Playing with water is often turbulent, especially when several children splash together. Therefore it is important that you keep a close eye on your little play mice during this type of garden play.

For older children who like to run around wildly and throw water balloons or water bombs at each other, set basic rules in place. This is especially advisable at water games at children's birthday parties.

In addition, wet grass quickly becomes slippery and slip hazard exists. Children are often not aware of this – so remind them from time to time so there are no tears.

Also note that children can get cold quickly. Even if temperatures are high in summer and cooling off is desired, cold water can quickly lead to hypothermia. If the water comes directly from the garden hose, it is usually no more than 18 degrees – so caution is advised.

As always, the same applies to sun protection: apply sunscreen to your kids regularly and dress them in UV clothing if possible. Textile UV protection works perfectly even when wet – so ideal for playing with water. A parasol or sail provides shade and additionally prevents sunburn.

Image credits

Boy cooling off with a garden hose © Kzenon - stock.adobe.com

Children playing with a garden sprinkler © Алексей Синельников - stock.adobe.com

Child playing with a garden hose © atvorniknik - stock.adobe.com