How Outdoor Play Affects Children’s Overall Development

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The digital era has made our lives more convenient. Children are also able to learn new things and benefit from the constant development of technology. For one, there are a lot of educational mobile apps that school-age kids can download and learn from aside from the usual school lessons.

Brain development is crucial especially to young children, hence the availability of educational toys and mobile apps. However, their physical development is just as important. In such cases, there should be more focus on park redevelopment in terms of promoting physical play, especially among children.

Your role in a child’s overall development

As children, we have enjoyed playing with other kids in the neighborhood. So why can’t we let our children enjoy that as well? On one hand, playing with educational toys and mobile apps do have their benefits. However, we should also pay attention not only to their brain development but also their physical health.

In other words, childhood is not complete without experiencing outdoor play. Whether playing at the beach or at the nearby park, outdoor play is essential to a child’s overall development. Of course, safety is still a must when letting your child play outdoors. Hence, you as a parent or guardian also play an important role in a child’s holistic development.

Why outdoor play is important for children

With the proliferation of electronic gadgets nowadays, it is not surprising anymore to see children preferring indoor over outdoor play. However, there are many reasons why you should encourage your children to play outdoors.

Never mind that they go home dirty and sweaty; they can always change clothes and clean themselves afterward. But the entire experience of playing outdoors will definitely be priceless. Here are the important benefits of outdoor play for children:

1. It strengthens their immune system.

The more children get used to outdoor play, the more their immune system will develop and strengthen. Outdoor play is also a great exercise for children. Thus, they get sick less often and basically become healthier kids.

2. It encourages emotional development and social skills.

Kids learn to wait for their turn on the swing or slide and to share what they have with their peers. At the same time, it improves their social skills and encourages improvisation and creativity through play.

3. It improves their attention span.

Children tend to be easily distracted by their surroundings. Kids who often play outdoors stay focused on tasks. Several studies also found that outdoor play lessens the risk of being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

4. It creates happy childhood memories.

We often look back to our own childhood when we get to play with other kids. Of course, we want our children to have good memories, too. They can bring those happy memories into adulthood.

It’s not really a bad thing to let children play with gadgets or their toys indoors. However, make sure to encourage them to play outside as well so that they can become well-rounded adults in the future.

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