Little Tikes Basketball Hoop

Score One for the Small Fry Team

• What: Little Tikes EasyScore Basketball Set
• When: 18 months to 5 years
• Why: Durable, portable, adjustable
• Where: Amazon

If you want more outdoor toys that will last for years to come, check out Little Tikes Basketball Hoop. We inherited our hoop from neighbors who moved, and all three of our kids have used it. Not only that, it lived outdoors in our yard for all those years, and it still works great.

The height on the one for tots adjust to six different settings to fit kids just learning to walk, much less throw balls, all the way well into school aged. More importantly, the materials will last that long, too. You can use a variety of balls with it, in case you lose the one or three that come included brand new. We inherited only one basketball, but my third child loves it so much he has sleep with it for years, and we never use it with the hoop.

Our hoop, which is the Adjust and Jam version for slightly older kids, has been used exclusively outdoors, but if you suffer from an excess of space, you can certainly use this set indoors. The base can be weighted with either sand or water to keep it upright, though I can’t imagine anyone wanting to use either of those materials indoors. We filled ours with water, and I can still move it around, though not as easily as with an empty base.

The net has some discoloration, and ours came with a folding mechanism for the hoop that doesn’t always stays put. But since we put zero dollars into this toy, and it was used by at least two kids before our three, we don’t complain. The tots version has even more height adjustments and the hoop doesn’t fold down, so you don’t have to worry about that aspect.