Sadly, children today have fewer opportunities to play outside. Studies show that busy family schedules and electronics are among the reasons affecting the amount of unstructured outdoor time for children.
Because spending time in nature is necessary for healthy development, our schools ensure every class goes outside each morning and afternoon (except in extreme weather conditions).
Unstructured outdoor play is essential for a variety of reasons. A few are listed here:
- Physical play increases overall fitness, builds healthier bodies, and helps prevent childhood obesity.
- Children need to develop large and small motor skills along with cardiovascular endurance.
- Time outdoors raises vitamin D levels, helping prevent future bone problems, diabetes, and heart disease and may also help boost the immune system.
- As little as 20-minutes of exercise has been linked to a boost in brain function afterward.
- Teachers know that outdoor play can help children release pent-up energy and doing so improves focus and concentration.
- Children learn important social and cognitive skills while playing outdoors: creating and organizing their own games, developing friendships and learning to resolve conflicts.
- Free time outside allows children to develop observation skills and learn about the world, using all of their senses to feel the wind or sun on their skin, observe an insect or flower, listen to birds chirping, for instance.
- Children need free unstructured playtime to relieve stress and protect their emotional development.
- A hurried lifestyle and loss of free time can contribute to anxiety and depression in children.
As parents and educators, we can preserve this valuable and necessary time for our children. At home, spending time outdoors can be as easy as heading out to the backyard or playground, walking to a meet a friend, having a picnic, going to the zoo or a local park. We are lucky to have mild weather and a variety of wonderful parks very close by.
With the longer days and nicer weather of spring around the corner, take advantage and spend some time outdoors with your child. You will both be glad you did.
