21st November 2017

A playground is a place where children spend most of their early days and grow together. It is a place where children’s play can take off and flourish. Outdoor playing not only helps the kids to remain active but also helps them to strengthen their motor skills as well. Good outdoor playgrounds are large enough and designed in such a way that children’s activity can come to full expression. It’s a place where children can make a mess, run, jump and hide, where they can shout, sing and discover the natural world. Children do have a great requirement for physical activities and need to use their muscles for various activities and to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. They like to use their full body when they engage in the outdoor games and activities as they such physical activities interesting and challenging. As a parent, caregiver or a teacher, you may go through online parenting programs to keep yourself updated with essential knowledge on the impact of outdoor play in their life.

Kids are drawn to playing outside by nature, and there are innumerable benefits of it. Playing actively outdoors also increases flexibility, fine and gross motor skills, and is related to the development of a wide variety of physical skills, including those involved in sports. The online parenting programs make you aware of the other benefits of playing outdoors which we need to be well aware of. Let us look at some of the benefits of outdoor play:  

Physical Exercise: Children require building up gross and fine motor skills and cardiovascular endurance. A study states that the motor development and movement skill acquisition of young kids must be encouraged in outdoor playgrounds. Extensive physical activity is also needed to address a growing problem of obesity in children across the world.

Enjoyment of the Outdoors: Playing outdoors is one of the basic things that describe childhood and the best preparation for adulthood is to have a full and enjoyable childhood. Thus childhood must include outdoor play. Children need opportunities to explore, experiment, manipulate, reconfigure, expand, influence, change, marvel, discover, practice, dam up, push their limits, yell, sing, and create. Some of our favourite childhood memories are outdoor activities.

Learning about the World: Outdoor play helps young kids to learn a lot of things about the world. It can be learned in another way too, but when a child learns something ‘in a fun and creative way’, it is much more effective and they are more likely to remember what they learned.

Social Play: From an early age, children should be given the scope to develop basic social skills outside their homely comfort zone, out in the playground. This may include activities like pushing each other on the swing, pulling a wagon carrying another child, playing together in the sand, and so on. Activities such as playing in a team, gardening, observing the weather in a separate science area, and having a picnic can build up strong social and inter-communication skills in children.