What Are The Benefits Of Outdoor Play?

Outdoor play offers many different benefits to children physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Stimulates The Imagination

Letting your child play outside is a phenomenal way to give your child the opportunity to explore nature freely, study their environment, and create their own adventures.

Builds Confidence

Outdoor play exposes children to new situations and obstacles. This encourages them to try new things, think differently to solve problems and explore their own level of independence and skill. As a result, they become more confident and self-aware.

Improves Motor Skills

Playing outside helps children develop and enhance their large fine motor skills, such as balance, agility, coordination, and more. By running, riding bikes, kicking balls, or jumping, they are able to develop new skills and improve those they’ve already mastered. Children who are not able to walk yet or who are learning can also build their fine motor skills by swinging. Swings help children learn how to sit up and hang on.

Improves Relationship-Building Skills

When kids are playing outside with other children, they are able to interact with one another, learn to be aware of each others’ feelings, communicate, and understand how to build relationships with others.

Improves Physical Health

Actively playing outside makes kids less likely to struggle with obesity and weight-related health problems. Outdoor activity helps children gain strength, build endurance, and sets them up to develop healthy physical activity habits as they age. Not to mention that playing outside gives children a healthy dose of Vitamin D from the sun, which aids in the immune system’s strong development, improves sleep cycle, and stabilizes mood.

How Do I Encourage My Child To Spend More Time Outdoors?

It’s no question that spending time outside isn’t the most exciting thing to some kids, especially when they think they have everything they would ever want to play with inside, with phones, computers, and video games. However, there are a few things parents can do to help motivate their children to spend some time outside.

Make Excuses To Go Outside

One great way to get kids to go outside is to make excuses for them and the entire family to go outside. For example, encourage the family to play a game outside, sit on the porch and birdwatch, look at the clouds, or have an outdoor barbeque.

Involve The Entire Family

Don’t just tell the child to go outside while you stay inside – make it a family affair! When at least of the majority of the family is doing an activity with the child, they are naturally going to be more open to outdoor activities.

Incorporate Technology

If your child is struggling to enjoy being outside, consider including technology in their outdoor activities. For example, study and research the type of plants you have outside, play with a digital compass to learn directions or study different bugs outside using a digital device.

Make A Compromise

In order to help your child go outside more, consider compromising with them by agreeing to allow them a certain amount of time on their devices if they spend some time outside for a set time. This helps to give both parents and the child what they want.

Activities Your Child Can Do Outside

Now that you’ve learned how to get your child out of the house, here are a few things you and your child can do to have even more fun outdoors.

1.  Plant a garden – There’s nothing like having your own produce that comes straight out of your garden! Consider having a family garden that the whole family can care for and check on regularly.
2.  Take a walk – Help the family get healthy together by taking walks together. You all can take walks in the park, go on hikes as a group, or walk a trail together. This way, everyone can get healthy and enjoy being outdoors together.
3.  Play hopscotch – Remember that old-school game? Why not show your child to play? Enjoy playing the game with your kids while also turning it into a learning experience by helping your kids with their writing skills and teaching them how to recognize numbers and shapes.
4.  Watch the sunset – There’s nothing more beautiful than a sunset. Teach your children about the sunset and share the experience of watching it in real time with your family.
5.  Go fishing – Get the family up on a nice day during the weekend, go out to the park, and have some fun seeing who can catch the most fish. It’s a relaxing activity and gives the family a chance to talk and connect.
6.  Go to the park – If you want a change of scenery or to get away from the house for a while, consider going to the park and letting your children play in the playground or take a walk around the grounds.
7.  Play in the sand or dirt – Consider setting up an area where your children can play and dig around in the dirt, or set up an area with a sandbox for the kids to play in.
8.  Have a picnic – Go to the park or go out in your yard and grab some snacks for a nice day or evening outdoors.
9.  Go geocaching – Geocaching is a hybrid scavenger hunt that allows you to use a GPS-enabled device to search for hidden containers in certain spots. It’ll be an excellent time for the entire family.
10.  Do a Science experiment – Science experiments and activities are fun ways for children to learn through interaction. Performing these activities gives plenty of space for messes and keeps your child engaged.

Final Thoughts

The emergence of technology and its increased accessibility has caused a significant shift in the way children interact with the outdoors. Although it may be a bit of an adjustment at first, if you keep the tips above in mind, your child will be sure to enjoy being outdoors in no time!