Review: E-Z Bat Baseball toy by Monkey Business Sports

Recently, I read a statistic that American children only spend an average of 4-7 minutes outside every day. I don't remember the publication, but I believe it was one of Seattle's local parenting magazines. It doesn't really matter where the number came from, or if it's off by just a little bit because even if it's off by 50%, that means that kids are only outside for less than 15 minutes a day! I love being outside, and I want my kids to feel the same. So, when a new outdoor toys comes around, I jump at the chance to try it out. This time, it's the E-Z Bat Baseball toy from Monkey Business Sports.

Fun Factor *** - Around our house, baseball might just be the most favored sport.  Any toy that gives our kids the chance to be a "baseball" player is guaranteed to be a hit!  Of course, anyone who has tried to pitch a ball to a 2 or 4-year old, or even tried to wait patiently as they hit the tee and not the ball over and over, will appreciate that with the E-Z Bat, every time your child swings the bat, the ball goes flying!  I'm not saying that they have a perfect swing every time, but we're trying to teach them to love the sport, not necessarily train them to be the next Babe Ruth.  Isaac very much prefers to load up both E-Z balls and watch them fly down the street the street at the same time.  Nadia likes to prolong her turn by only "hitting" one ball at a time.  Either way, at the end of the turn, they both chase the balls down and return them to the next batter giving them the oh-so-important exercise they both really need.

She was not in any mood to stop for a picture, hence the super serious face.

Materials/Durability **** - We've played pretty hard with this toy over the past month or so, and it's still going strong.  I like the fact that even when the kiddos graduate from "hitting" the E-Z balls off the bat, they can still use the bat to hit regular balls, too, lengthening the life of the toy.  Plus, the balls are not hard which means they don't sting when someone gets hit by a flying ball, and we never risk accidentally breaking a neighbors window.

Here's Isaac loading up his bat with both balls.  

Price - Just $15.99 directly from Monkey Business Sports.

Not quite sure why she thought it was a good idea to swing at me, luckily I go the pic and then out of the way just in time!

Overall Rating ***1/2 - I'm under no illusions that after playing with the E-Z bat, my children are going to be making the All-Star team at the age of 5.  As far as I'm concerned, this toy is a way for my kids to safely get some experience playing "baseball" while also enjoying some much needed time running and playing outside.  The E-Z Bat is great for children from ages 2-7.