When my husband and I recall our childhood, there is one major difference between our experience and what our kids get to experience, and that is the joy of freely playing outside.
I remember running all over my neighborhood, riding bikes to the country store and only coming home when it was close to dinner time. Our kids, not so much. We live on a busy street, and if they want to ride a bike, we have to bring them somewhere to do that. If they want to play outside for hours, we take them to a park or playground so they can have access to sports equipment and wide open spaces.
Our yard is very small, and as much as we tell them to "GO PLAY OUTSIDE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" we totally understand that there's not much for them to do out there....nowhere to hide, nowhere to ride, nowhere to shoot hoops. Besides, one of us had to be out there watching as a certain toddler has made it clear that playing with traffic seems interesting.
Finally after six kids, we have made our outside time more enjoyable for the kids and (more importantly!) for us. We bought the kids a basketball hoop and gave it to them Easter morning.
 |
| It's an Easter Basketball! |
 |
| We raised the net right after this. |
 |
| She doesn't always swish the ball, but when she does, she's doing it in style. |
They love shooting around, and four of them play team basketball, but because we live on such a busy road, we had never gotten one for fear of the ball rolling into the street. Over time we researched driveway safety nets and found them to be ridiculously expensive, until we found the Stop It! driveway net.
The Stop It! driveway net is a lifesaver, possibly quite literally. It is a 23 foot long, retractable, portable, bright red net that stretches along your driveway and prevents balls from rolling out, cars from pulling in, and kids from running off. My husband said it's super easy to put up and take down, and that's quite a compliment!
We now feel so much safer when our gang is outside playing, and the sense of boundary makes them feel safer too. The wonderful folks at Stop It! are willing to give away a driveway net to one of my lucky readers. Enter the rafflecopter giveaway below, and good luck!
That's so cool!! I am not going to enter the giveaway, not because I don't think this is the coolest idea and super helpful in your situation, but rather because we don't have a driveway. We have parking off our alley. We too are on a super busy street but our backyard is fenced in thankfully! Whoever wins is a lucky duck!
ReplyDeletePlease please let me win! We live on a main street in the middle of the city :( we have a long driveway but I still forbid the kids from playing when a grown up is not there.
ReplyDeleteI can put this midway. So it's still far away but not too close to the road. :)
What a great product, especially if you live in town. We need this for behind the hockey net.:)
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ mommainflipflops
I literally went to the hardware store to buy the supplies to make a homemade version last week. A retractable one would be a God-send!
ReplyDeleteHow do I not have one of these?! While we aren't directly connected to the county road, our driveway has a slope and balls get away all the time. The end of our driveway connects with the inlaws drive. While this isn't usually a high-traffic area, since grandpa lost some of his vision after his stroke I am more concerned about the girls and him not seeing them when he's driving in and out. He has a gator type thing that he's constantly driving around at unsafe (to me) speeds for an older fella. Usually the girls are watchful, but it means mama has to be even more watchful and alert.
ReplyDeleteThis looks so great
ReplyDeleteWe would totally be able to use this!
ReplyDelete