With so many drones hovering in the skies nowadays, it can be very difficult to introduce kite flying to your child. But simple toys like 3D puzzles or kites offer a lot more benefits compared to the other pre-programmed tech toys available today. Simple toys don’t only encourage your child to use and develop all of their body parts, they also motivate your kids to use their imagination.
That’s why in this guide, we will not only review the best kites for kids. We will also discuss the benefits of kite flying and the factors you should consider when buying one for your little ones.
You may like to read: Best Remote Controlled Planes for Kids
The Benefits of Kite Flying
Kites have been around for over 9000 years. And if you were born 50 years ago, kite flying may have been your favorite pastime during your childhood years. And aside from the extreme fun, there are a lot of benefits your child can gain from flying kites. Here are some of the most important ones:
Physical Development
When you fly a kite, you’re focusing on keeping it up in the sky for a long period of time. Looking at a distant, flying object to focus on will improve your child’s eye coordination as well as his/her eye health.
Furthermore, flying kites keep your children outdoors to enjoy the fresh air and get enough Vitamin D. This factor, in addition to the fact that they’re running, moving their arms and body have a great impact on their physical development.
Mental Benefits
Playing outdoors like flying a kite or enjoying a game of laser tag with their laser tag guns can greatly benefit a child’s mental health. That’s because playing lets your children forget about their worries and problems just like adults too.
In addition to that, gazing at the blue sky while flying kites promotes relaxation and relieves fatigue. Furthermore, kite flying can promote your child’s problem-solving skills as they try hard to keep their kites afloat or discover how to better improve their performance. Creativity and imagination can also be encouraged when they design their own kite or play role-playing games with their friends and family.
Social Development
Playing with kites can be fun with a group of like-minded people or the family. Though your child can fly a kite alone, playing with other kids around makes this game nostalgic and memorable. Additionally, playing outdoor games like flying kites or an outdoor Jenga game with your family can enhance your child’s social development. Your child can gain a lot of social skills like cooperation and sportsmanship during friendly kite fights.
Anatomy of a Kite
Before we discuss the factors to consider when buying a kite for your little one, it is important to understand the main components of a kite and how it works.
A regular kite has 3 main parts: the body, its bridle and the kite line.
The body is composed of the outer cover, the kite sail, the cross spar, the spine and the tail. The spine and the cross par acts as the skeleton of the kite. This is where the outer covering is laid out too, to create the wings that keeps the kite suspended in the air. The sail on the other hand should be lightweight because it’s responsible for providing the lift when wind hits the kite. While the tail helps in stabilizing the kite mid-air.
The bridle and the kite line are the strings that help you control the kite. The arrangement and position of these strings greatly affect the performance of your kite. There are in fact several types of bridling or number of bridle points to stabilize your kites. This will matter if you have a large kites or if you like flying kites during strong winds.
Now that you know the different parts of kites, let’s proceed to the factors you should consider when buying a child-friendly kite.
How to Choose The Best Kites for Kids
When selecting the best kites, you need to be mindful of the following:
Type
Kites are differentiated according to their shapes. The Delta Kite (triangular) and Diamond Kite are the most popular and the easiest to use for beginners and children. Parafoil kites and traction kites are parachute shaped kites. And there are kites mainly used for festivals that showcases different animals or colorful polygons.
However, the best type if you have a younger kid should either be a delta or diamond type. Once they have mastered these kites, they can move on to the more complicate kite types.
Materials
Most of the kites today are made of plastic or nylon fabric but if you’re looking for the best material you should look for ripstop nylon. This is the perfect material for a kite because it is resistant to ripping and tearing. In fact, ripstop nylon is what’s usually used in creating hot air balloons, parachutes and yacht sails too.
Size
The average size of kites for kids should be 1-5 meters. Generally, larger kites are more suitable for low wind while small kites can handle stronger wind. In addition, the weight of the kite depend on its size too and both of these will considerably affect the performance of your kite.
10 Best Kites for Kids
AGREATLIFE Easy to Fly Large Rainbow Kite
Pros: There’s an assembly video provided by the manufacturer to help parents and children easily build the kite and an ebook for kite flying basics
Cons: The 50m line length may not be suitable for older kids.
With over 6000+ kites sold on AMAZON, you can never go wrong with AGREATLIFE’s rainbow kite. Having an overall dimension of 26 x 42,” this diamond-shaped kite is best for kids aged 4-8 years old. And thanks to the detailed manufacturer’s video and instructions you and your kids will never have troubles setting it up too.
When it comes to quality, this kite is made from durable and waterproof nylon fabric and bendable rods. It has a huge glider that will help your kids easily fly and land this kite. Weighing around 1lb, this toy is super lightweight. And with its 55 inches long tail its stable and suitable for light to medium wind (5mph and above).
In addition to that, this kite comes with a 10cm easy grip handle that’s suitable for smaller hands to navigate with. It also comes with a 50m kite line made from durable polyester string which will let your child fly it as high as trees. But the best thing about this toy is that it’s portable too, just fold in or disassemble it and you can bring it anywhere in a minute!
Mint’s Colorful Life Delta Kit
Pros: This kite has a long kite line which is best suitable for older children or more advanced kid kite flyers.
Cons: This kite is difficult to lift or launch in light wind.
If you’re looking for a classic DELTA kite for your kid, then Mint’s Colorful Life Easy to Fly Kite is the one you should get. What we love best about this kite is that, it has over 300ft (90m) string, meaning, it can soar up to around a building’s height. This guarantees that your child will never get bored once they get more comfortable and confident with their kite flying skills.
The overall dimension of this kite is 60″x30″ which makes it perfect for flying in light to moderate wind. It is made from high quality nylon fabric and durable frames and a kite pool. In addition to that it comes with 2 ribbons with a length of 3m to help stabilize the kite mid-air.
Mint’s Colorful Life DIY Kites for Kids
Pros: Customizable kites for kids
Cons: Small kites and suitable for younger kids only
Your child will definitely love this DIY Kite kit again by Mint’s Colorful Life. With this kite kit, your child can draw on it and customize it with colors and design that they love. In addition to that, this kite comes in different sets and all of them include colorful makers!
Mint’s Colorful Life makes several kites with different materials and this customizable kite has a thin nylon outer cover that looks like a blank canvas to enable kids to color and draw on it. But if you’re wondering if these kites can definitely fly, here’s a video from Min’ts website.
Each of the kites in the set are equipped with all essential parts like the frame, tail and the kite pool. It has an overall size of 25x25x0.1 inches, weighs around 5 ounces and has a tail long enough to keep it stable in the air. But because of its price and materials, don’t expect too much from its performance. This toy is designed for younger kids to enjoy.
Keaibuding Kites for Kids
Pros: The construction is very sturdy and very well thought out
Cons: The kite can be much more stable if there were two tails.
If you want to not only teach your child how to fly a kite but how to build it too, then choose the easy to build Keaibudung Kites for Kids! Because of its Delta shape and large size (58”x29”), your child will find it very easy to fly this kite. In addition to that, the manufacturer made sure that this kite is easy to assemble and disassemble, your children can even do it by themselves.
When it comes to quality, this kite is made from double-stitched nylon fabric that is strong but lightweight, flexible and wear resistant. Furthermore, it has a very long but lightweight tail to prevent the kite from rolling. The 300ft durable string will definitely be loved by kids as this will let them sail theri kites higher than trees and small buildings!
StuffKidsLove Delta Kite
Pros: Great warranty. High quality materials and construction
Cons: This kite is expensive
If you’re looking for a strong and reliable kite for your kids, then the Delta Kite by the StuffKidsLove brand is worth taking a look at. In fact, this toy isn’t only made from heavy duty and high-tech materials, this kite has a Sea-‘n’-Tree “No-Loss” Warranty too. What this just means is when your child loses his or her kite in the sea or it got stuck in a tree, they will send you another one, FREE of charge.
In addition to that wonderful offer, this kit is highly durable too. Its outer cover is made from heavy-duty 210T ripstop nylon. The rods are made from bendable and high-end resin rods. Furthermore the clips are made from stainless steel to prevent rusting.
Although it costs twice the other products in this list, the package includes some extra parts like spare connectors and tails and a storage bag. In addition to that, the construction is exceptional! It features rip-proof stitching, reinforced connectors and strong but flexible frames. Your child can even pick from 5 different bright colors.
HONBO Large Delta Kite for Kids
Pros: Unique design
Cons: Fiberglass is strong but not that flexible and prone to breakage.
Honbo is another kite company that offers a lot of fun and easy to fly kites for kids. Here is a nice video featuring their cute rainbow Octopus kite. B07ZLX1YLB
This kite may look really good, but we recommend getting your children the delta or diamond ones because they are more suitable to younger kids or beginners. Good thing, the HONBO has a great Delta kite you can buy too.
This kite features a connected rainbow colored twin tails that looks really festive up in the air. Measuring 54×31” its size is great for moderate wind. The outer covering is made from durable 70D ripstop nylon and the frames are made from fiberglass. It also has a long 300ft kite line to let your children fly this kite high!
Mint’s Colorful Life Airplane Kite for Kids
Do you want something more striking and unique for your kid? Then this colorful kite which looks like a real airplane is the one for you.
Mint’s Colorful Life has given us again another great product that will keep your child outdoors running and laughing for hours. When it comes to quality, this kite like all the other kites from this brand is made from 210T ripstop nylon and high grade frames. The kite line is 300ft, guaranteeing your child more fun as it soars above the trees in your backyard.
The overall size of this toy is 90”x63” including the realistic and brightly colored jet steam tail. In addition to that, it has 2 years free accessories replacement and free kite replacement just in case your child’s kite gets stolen!
HENGDA KITE Software Octopus
Pros: This large kite has a unique and entertaining design
Cons: May be difficult for beginners to fly
If you’re looking for a unique kite to keep your children busy, this colorful octopus kite will not only enchant them but will impress other kite flyers and passersby too! In addition to the cuddly look of this toy, it’s also available in 5 colors! And for only 12$, we really think that this price is a steal.
The Hengda kite has sold over 2,500 kites on Amazon and there are a lot of positive reviews and user videos on the salespage too. From head to its tentacles, the overall size is 400cmx80cm or over 5m long! Your child will definitely jump for joy when he or she finally managed to fly it up in the air!
Listenman 2 Pack Kites – Large Rainbow
Pros: This Kite pack is cheap!
Cons: The overall quality may not be that good
We’ve included these kites from Listenman because you’ll get these 2 kites for only 15$! The good thing is, even though this kite is cheap, the manufacturers didn’t compromise on quality. In fact, this item is one of the best selling kites on Amazon and there are lots of positive feedbacks.
This package comes with 2 kites, a delta kite (55”x43”) and a cute octopus kite (58”x28”). Both of these kites are large but lightweight, thus, they are very easy to fly in light to moderate wind. In addition to that, both of these kites come with a 100m string line each, the longest of all kite lines included in this list.
FAQs about Best Kites For Kids
We’ve compiled some of the most asked questions about the best kites for kids and answered them for you:
What makes a kite fly?
There are four forces that keep kites afloat in the air: thrust, drag, weight and lift. To be able to fly a kite, the lift which is the upward force should be greater than the weight or downward force generated by the overall weight of your kite. Thrust and drag dictates whether your kite moves forward or backward. And to keep the kite in the air, you need to balance this four forces.
Where did kite originate?
The very first kites were believed to have originated from Asia. In fact, kites have played a big part in Asian culture and you will always see them in traditional old Asian movies. In particular, China made the production of kites popular and spread it across neighboring countries.
Is Kite Flying legal?
Unlike drones, flying kites is completely legal in the US. There are countries that prohibit this and requires you to get a permit first. In the US there are just height limitations according to state, this will vary from 150-250 feet.
What is the best material for kites?
The best material for kites nowadays are nylon fabrics. That’s because nylon is strong but lightweight and tear-resistant! In addition to that, most manufacturers add additional coatings to prevent stretching and make it more stronger too.
Which kite is best paper or plastic?
The very first kites used in Asia were made from paper and fabric. Nowadays, plastic or nylon is the more preferred because of its durability and longevity. But if you want an eco-friendly kite, paper kites work the same way as plastic kites.
