I am not afraid to admit it, but one of my favorite outdoor activities is flying a kite. My family loves to run around our backyard trying to get our kites to fly or most of the time we head to our local park so we have some more room to get our kites up in the air.
Kit flying is a great way to get your child running around outside and getting some physical activity while having a lot of fun. Most kids don’t even realize how much running they are doing as they are just worried about getting their kite to fly.
There really are so many cool looking kites for kids that you can get for your child and you may just be amazed yourself at the way some of them look when flying high up in the sky. Best of all, most kites for kids don’t cost a lot of money either.
Now, I’m no kite flying expert, but I have been able to teach 3 of my kids how to successfully get their kites off the ground and up in the air, so I thought I would share some tips with other parents on teaching your kids to fly a kite. You should easily be able to teach your child to fly a kite.
Pick the Right Day
There is nothing worse than trying to fly a kite on the wrong day because it only discourages and frustrates the child as well as the parent.
When choosing the perfect day for kite flying, choose a day that has a light to moderate breeze. You don’t want a really windy day as the kite won’t cooperate and may just blow away instead, but you do need some sort of wind to get your kite flying.
Also, never attempt to fly your kite on a day that is stormy or even just raining. In some places a quick rain shower can turn into a spring or summer storm quite quickly and you never want to have a kite flying in the air when lightening is around.
Teach Your Child To Fly A Kite
If you have a big backyard that may be efficient enough for younger child to get their kite up and flying, but if you have an older child or lots of trees around, you want to head out to a local park or field that is wide open and has plenty of space.
Be sure that there are no power lines around as well so that you don’t have to worry about a child’s kite getting tangled in the lines and potentially causing them bodily harm. An open soccer or baseball field is a great option because there won’t be trees or power lines in the way.
Choose the Right Kite for Your Child
If you are going to let your child fly the kite by themselves you definitely want to make sure you get an easy to fly kite that is appropriate for their age. Many times a child may not possess the needed hand-eye coordination to properly fly a kite on their own until they are approximately 6-7 years old. Keep that in mind when choosing a kite for your kid.
For kids you most likely want to stick with a triangle kite or a diamond kite, which are great for beginners. A bigger kite may be easier to get flying but it also may pull more once up in the air which may be harder for a younger child to control. On the other hand, a smaller kite may be take more time to get in the air but once it is flying is easier to control.
Getting the Kite to Fly
Now comes the fun part. For children younger than 4 or 5 years of age, you may want to get their kite flying for them and then let them take over the reigns, but you can always have them try flying the kite first as it can be fun to simply run around and try to get the kite off the ground.
Have your child stand with his back to the wind and hold the kite out in front of him. On a good, windy day, the kite will start soaring up on it’s own, but if it needs a little help you can always help him out by walking the kite about 50 feet away and launching it up in the air as he pulls the string.
You can also help the kite get up in the air by having them run with the kite while letting some of the string go to allow it to fly higher. This is probably one of the most fun ways to get the kite to fly.
Be prepared to have to wind a lot of string back up as it can be difficult for some kids to get the kite off the ground and keep it off the ground.
Check out the National Kite Flying Month’s website for more information about getting certain kites to fly.
Safety Tips for Flying a Kite with Kids
As I mentioned above, be sure that you are not flying the kite anywhere near power lines, trees or during stormy or rainy weather. You also want to stay away from any busy streets or even parking lots as well.
Buildings can also pose a threat to kites as well and if at all possible try to find an open field with nothing else around.
If you have more than one child trying to fly a kite at a time, be sure that they have enough space between them that they won’t run into each other and their kites won’t get tangled as well.
Flying kites with your kids can be a lot of fun and is a great physical activity to get your children outside during nice weather. I’m sure you probably remember flying kites as a kid and now you can share that fun with your child.