Play Tent Recommendations

A play tent can be a very fun and educational toy that will keep children busy for hours. Just like all toys, it is best to be sure you are buying the best tent for your child, and not simply the first thing you find. Most parents have gotten a toy or two for their children that they thought were fantastic, and it ended up sitting in the child's closet forever. Or the child loves it and it break in a week. Neither occurrence is very pleasant and both are overall wastes of money.


Photo: KRHamm

Here are some tips for you to consider when finding the perfect play tent:

• Child's interest
• Space available
• Where it will be used
• Tent quality
• Letting your child choose

Child's Interest
Your child may love the idea of a play tent, but may have a very specific style in mind. If you get a completely different style, your child may not even play with his tent at all. Or, if the gift is a surprise, try to find a tent with your child’s favorite theme or characters to ensure he will enjoy it. If your child loves cowboys, you can get a tent with a “on the range” theme. If he likes soldiers, you can get a tent with an army style. Playful and fancy designs for a little girl generally do well, or even princess castle style tents. Tunnel style tents are a great idea for very active children and can provide for all day fun.

Available Space
It's all well and good to have the perfect tent for your child, but where will it go? Will it be indoors in his or her room? The family area? When shopping for a tent, it may not look very big in the store, but remember they are pretty big toys. The best idea is to take measurements of the area you plan to have the play tent before you go shopping. You then can shop confidently and get a tent which is the proper size. This way your child can play with it whenever they like and you don’t have to set it up each and every time.

Where it will be used
Remember that most play tents can be used inside and outside, depending on their quality. If your child wants a tent which can be taken outside once in awhile, be sure to get a tent which is built for outdoors. Many state whether they are suitable for outdoor use or not. You will also probably want one which is water resistant, easy to clean, and easy to set up or move.

Consider quality
Buying an inexpensive play tent isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but be sure that lower cost does not mean lower quality. Inside tents which are well taken care of may have no problems even after a year of constant use. But a tent which is roughly played with, it is best to get one which is of higher quality and higher price if you don’t want to be buying a new one soon.

Let your child choose
One great option is to allow your child to have a choice in their play tent. Of course a child may not think about everything discussed in this article, and may need a bit of assistance to pick a really great tent. But getting your child involved in the process can really do wonders when it comes to finding the perfect tent for them. Obviously, a child wont choose what he doesn’t like, so you are free of the guessing game. For children who are a bit older, you may want to try and explain things like size and quality. If not, you can chose several great options and let him choose among them.

It is worth it to be wise when purchasing a play tent, making sure your child is happy with your choice is also very important.

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A play tent can be a very fun and educational toy that will keep children busy for hours. Just like all toys, it is best to be sure you are buying the best tent for your child, and not simply the first thing you find.