What makes a jump rope the best?

- What makes a jump rope the best?
- My dream jump rope
"I… love… you…. Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your nose, touch your shoulder, and touch your feet, turn around and go away!" This is the most memorable childhood game song I have as a kid. It brings smiles to my face each time I think about it.

That was our game song for skip rope, or what is also called jump rope. The song and the movements are all the same but the challenge comes with "each level" that gets faster and faster until you can no longer catch up with the swinging rope. That what makes it a fun and can be a competitive game for kids.

Not to mention that, playing jump rope is a good cardio exercise for kids without them feeling like it is a chore. This game tests your agility, hand-eye-fit coordination, and ability to master it, which requires a lot of practice. You cannot practice with your playmates; at least it was not advisable then. Therefore, skipping rope alone was the alternative back then. This makes jump rope a versatile toy, as this can either be a one-player to the multi-player game.

Nowadays you can hardly get kids to play with anything as boring as that. It has to be colorful, "fun", and at the same time one-of-a-kind. That is why jump ropes right now come in different colors with "special" handles and in various lengths. As the kids grow, the longer the jump rope they would need to play else they would not even pick it up.

The basic requirements for good jump ropes are simple – it has to have the right length, thickness, and handles should be durable.

Length, as mentioned, should be according to your child's height and to the number of jumpers intended to play at the same time. Therefore, an adjustable jump rope is the most ideal so you do not need to buy multiple times.

While thickness defines the weight and the intensity of pain that your child may get if he/she fails while skipping rope. Thicker ropes are better handled by older kids while thinner ones for smaller kids. Our skip ropes then were very plain, simple, and as far as I can recall cheap, if not free. It was just made of thicker twine fiber, usually in beige or brown color.

The handles have become essential nowadays compared to my time. The handle actually prevents kids from having blisters as they swing the rope around for longer or faster. So, kids can have fun blister-free on their hands. You just cannot guarantee the same for their legs, though. For the handle, it is best to have a "rubberized" handle for better grip.

Having a one-of-a-kind jump rope can be tricky. It usually comes down to how many colours the rope has and how vibrant they are. Usually, kids would pick the rope in their favourite colours. Other kids who are obsessed with unicorns, perhaps there is somewhere a jump rope with a "unicorn-shaped" handles. If not, there is an idea for toy manufacturers out there.

If I were still a kid now, I would prefer my skip rope adjustable, longer, thicker, with rubber handles, and have LED lights showing different colours when I swing it around. How about you? What would be the best jump rope for you?