The Importance Of Playing Outdoors For Your Children
Nowadays boys and girls are no longer used to playing outdoors, especially if they live in big cities. Most children play at home with tablets, computers or watch television. There are few who, in a big city, have the opportunity to play daily outdoors.
Those who have siblings can play at home with other children. But most of them aren’t pushed to play outdoors unless we take them to a park or take a few trips to the countryside. Playing with other children is essential for our children to socialize and learn to play with their peers.
Even if we are afraid of the dangers of big cities, we must try to make sure that children can play on the street or in the park, because they will have many benefits. If we do not trust it, we will have to commit ourselves to taking small family outings outside the city, where they can enjoy nature without running dangers. Ideally, our children could play several times a year on the beach, in the woods or in the mountains.
Benefits of playing outdoors for children
All children should go out to play every day or at least on weekends from an early age. Playing outdoors has many benefits for children and for the whole family.
We can take our children to the park, on a trip out of town, or even take a trip to some larger rural setting with the whole family. The important thing is that children can interact with nature and also with other children.
In this article we present some of the benefits of these outdoor games that will surely give you ideas for spending a family day in contact with nature:
- They enhance creativity in children because they have to develop their ingenuity and imagination on the street or in the green. Children do not know the environment they are in and must explore in order to play in this new context.
- It prevents childhood obesity, one of the great problems of children of our time. When children play outdoors they have to leave their sedentary lives for a few hours and leave the house, which always means exercising.
- It fosters relationships with other children, which is difficult if they always play around the house. Playing with other children is very important for them to socialize and learn to share with others.
- They tend to be more autonomous and independent and learn to cope with different problems and difficult situations. For example, during the game they may come face to face with some unknown insect or some interesting mineral that can awaken doubts and curiosity in them.
Enjoying the game outdoors from an early age
If we get used to going out with our children to the park or to the countryside once or twice a week, surely the whole family will soon be able to enjoy these activities. If we do it regularly, we will be able to enjoy nature with the family and spend unforgettable days.
Since children are small, we must ensure that they come into contact with the outdoors and with nature. For children, even the smallest ones, it will help to experience the relationship with the outside world through the five senses.
Even as babies, children can walk and crawl on the grass or sand at the beach. So you can experiment with different textures and even benefit from the different sounds of nature. We can invent games with them to make them discover, for example, the textures of the leaves and the trunks of the trees, the particular smells of nature or the sounds of the different animals that we can find in the countryside.
Surely these experiences will give the child a great knowledge of the world around him and will stimulate all his senses. Children will be able to learn many new words and experience sensations directly by being in contact with nature.
Even during the growth phase it is important that they play outdoors, in order to move, exercise, socialize with other children and discover nature with all their senses. Children consume energy, burn calories and sleep better. Don’t hesitate and try to get your children to play outdoors at least twice a week.
