The Benefits of Outdoor Play for Children
by Mari Ferrell, PCI Certified Parent Coach® Parent Coaching Associates, LLC
Have you ever noticed the difference in your children's behavior when they are outdoors rather than cooped up inside? My childhood memories are filled with games of hide-and-seek, flashlight tag, making firefly lamps, building clubhouses, exploring the "woods" (vacant lot) near our house, and making things from the "clay" we found in the backyard. My mother and her brother tell stories of leaving their house every morning in the summer and not returning home until dusk. Their days included craw fishing in a nearby ditch, wading in Dry Creek, and building hideouts in the tall prairie grasses. Do our children today have entire days to explore nature and enjoy the freedoms of the outdoors? Is unstructured outdoor play becoming a relic of the past? Evidence is mounting that points to the fact that children are spending more and more time indoors, disconnected from nature due to the pull of the TV, internet, or video games. Most outdoor activities are those which are structured and under the careful supervision of adults.
Outdoor Play Has a Calming Effect
In my own children I notice a marked difference in their personalities when they are able to enjoy the pleasures of outdoor play. I have always believed that children should spend as much time outside as possible, hearkening back to my teaching days when I was often the only teacher who took her students to the playground on a cold and misty day. I never had a complaint about the kids' behavior inside as long as they had plenty of time outside. When things seemed to be getting crazy it was always a sign that they needed to get OUT! I have noticed that it works exactly the same with my own three kids. Studies have indicated that exposure to green space and nature has an especially calming affect on children with ADHD. Even adults benefit from time in nature, which has been shown to help with relaxation, stress reduction, and mental restoration.
Outdoor Play is Fun
This past summer at my daughter's birthday sleepover I had 12 girls ranging from six to eleven years old spending the night. My husband just happened to be out of town. I was a little concerned about doing this all by myself, so one of my good friends stayed for a couple of hours to help me out. Then she got to leave her kids with me and go out for a nice, quiet dinner with her husband. I was on my own. It was (understandably) wild and crazy inside my house. Cake crumbs and ice cream drippings covered the floor. I knew the best thing for everyone involved would be for all 12 kids to go in the backyard so I could have a moment to clean up the sticky mess.
For a full 15 minutes one or another of them kept knocking on the door. "When can we come in?" "I'm tired." "I'm bored out here." They didn't seem too sure about the idea of being outside in the heat. Finally the kitchen was cleaned up and I was ready for the re-entry to occur. But wait—what was going on out there? I stealthily opened a shade and peeked outside. They had a frog and some paper birthday plates and bowls, sticks and leaves. Come to find out they were building a frog mansion. The mansion became more and more elaborate over the next several hours and the frogs multiplied. There needed to be lots of rooms, you see. And a swimming pool complete with a diving board….
Meanwhile I kicked back and read a magazine in my nice clean house. Around 10 p.m. I forced them to come in because I was scared the neighbors would wonder. The frog mansion project ended up being the most talked-about event of the party.
Exposure to Nature is Crucial to Human Development
There is a growing amount of research that shows the importance of time in nature to human growth and development. Extensive evidence indicates that direct exposure to nature is essential for physical and emotional health. When children do not have the experience of being outside, they are missing out on an important part of childhood. In his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv explains, "Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses". We should not think of outdoor play as simply leisure time, but as something that is as necessary to our children's development as a balanced diet or a good night's sleep.
Time in nature helps:
- develop motor skills
- improve memory
- foster creativity
- keep obesity in check
- improve attentiveness
- decrease restlessness
- reduce stress
What Can You Do?
This summer, make an effort to limit time indoors and increase time outdoors. Find ways to expose your children to nature and green spaces. This can be difficult to do in extreme heat, but sometimes just a hose and a few water balloons, buckets of water, and bubbles will suffice. I've even found a Slip-n-Slide to be invaluable. A rock garden, vegetable garden, or animal habitat could be a wonderful addition to your backyard. Last summer we went for nature hikes and biked on the greenbelt in the cooler parts of the day, stopping to see interesting things along the way.
Resources
An incredible amount of self-directed learning can take place for your children when they are allowed the freedom to explore the great outdoors. For lots of great ideas for fun activities your kids can do outside, visit our Web site at www.parentcoachingassociates.com and click on "Summer Fun."
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv, is an excellent book that pulls together all the research on the necessity of outdoor play for children.
Read more about helping to improve the mental and physical well-being of your child: http://www.usaweekend.com/07_issues/071118/071118healthy-kids-report.html
Mari Ferrell, a former teacher, is the mother of three daughters and a PCI Certified Parent Coach®. You can contact her at www.parentcoachingassociates.com.
Copyright © 2008 Mari Ferrell, all rights reserved. Used with permission.