Few people are completely unaware of the benefits of outdoor play for children’s health. However, here are a few potentially unexpected reasons why your kids should have play time outside and how you can encourage them.
Better Physical Fitness
One of the most obvious advantages of playing outside is the space it affords for children to exercise and keep fit. The urge to run, climb, jump, and explore is easier to fulfill when out in the world rather than confined inside. Letting children burn off energy by playing outside also leads to a more restful night’s sleep and better brain development.
Opportunities for Imagination, Collaboration, and Real-World Learning
Playing outside is also notably beneficial to a child’s mental health. Although it can be argued that there is collaboration and imagination in some video games, it often doesn’t compare to the immediate feedback in the real world. When children play outside, they develop better patience and a higher tolerance for boredom, leading to improved imagination and problem-solving.
Guided Exploration
Whether you live rurally or in the middle of a city, you can encourage outdoor exploration by taking your children to nature reserves and national parks. These are excellent places to learn about and connect with nature. This sense of adventure helps to build a child’s capacity for sensible risk-taking and respecting the world around them. Without this type of exposure, kids can grow up with a distorted sense of boundaries and safety.
Improved Playgrounds
If the only chance your kids get to play outside is during recess at school, it’s important that the school playground is well-equipped. This doesn’t necessarily mean the expense of large, elaborate climbing equipment. Expert line marking companies can provide professional yet simple additions to the playground that let children play imaginatively. If you work at a school, you can get in touch with these experts and they’ll give you a quote. As a parent, you can make this suggestion to the parent-teacher committee or school management. This type of outdoor play is ideal for inspiring young minds to create their own games.
Increased Trust
When children are given the chance to prove that they are trustworthy, they often demonstrate surprising responsibility. Restricting children’s access to outdoor play can make them feel cooped up and not trusted to make mistakes. Allowing this kind of trust to play outdoors teaches children how to listen to their own better judgment and sets them up to become more capable adults.
Some may see a desire to encourage children to play outdoors as a naive, nostalgic perspective that ignores the contemporary child-rearing climate. However, it’s hard to deny the fact that kids who have the opportunity to play outside tend to have better social skills, mental health, fitness, and imagination than children who don’t. Whether it’s by taking your kids to the park once a week or helping their school improve the outdoor play areas, there are ways you can support active play and, in turn, support your children’s well-being.
