It is not very enlightening to know that the little lamps that will brighten the future haven’t seen much of the sunlight themselves. Nowadays we hardly see children heading out to play with their friends after school or over the weekend. Outdoor playtime is like an endangered species which will soon become extinct considering the rate at which the technology is advancing and become easily accessible. As reports suggest it has been observed that children as young as 2 – 5 years are spending close to 30 hours in a week with their electronic friends. This not good news if you don’t want you children to lead sedentary lives in future, holed up indoors with their tablets, laptops, smartphones and video game consoles in their hands.
The upside here is that this matter is still in your hands. How about utilising your free time to cook up some crazy ideas to make outdoor activities more entertaining and fun for your children. You can always spruce things up in your backyard by converting it into a physically active place to play. You can exploit the old school method of allowing children to make a mess when they play, this not only give them a sense of physical freedom but also allows their imagination and creativity to run wild.
Curious to know what goes on in those little minds all day? Only one way to find out – let them out in the garden and give them various objects they can play with. This way you can get two birds with one stone, your children will get to learn a lot of new things and enjoy their time outdoors. Let them in on a little secret, they can use the outdoors as their secret little hideout too!
Benefits That Mother Nature and Outdoor Play Have to Offer
Nature Deficit Order is the lack of outdoor activity of kids. The children of today differ from the children of yesterday when it comes to having fun outdoors. This phenomenon is partly because today’s parents are not aware of the benefits that playing outdoors has on children and neglect the disadvantages of a sedentary life.
One of the few benefits of playing outdoors apart getting a first-hand experience of nature and learning new things is that parents and children alike get to interact with new people. It is essential that the children get some time to make use of all that treasured energy after a long day of school spent indoors. this gives them an opportunity to productively exert their energy as well as get to meet new people, make new friends and understand how the world functions. This also allows them to develop their mental capacity and creativity. Children have the capacity to build their very own little world of adventure at a very young age. Another plus point is that this ensures that the children share a strong bond with their parents.
A Natural Booster for Learning and Overall Health
Nature also has the ability to benefit children and parents not only physically but mentally as well. The greenery and the fresh supply of oxygen helps improve short term memory and aids in sharper thinking. The fact that there are children undergoing depression and stress at an age where they shouldn’t even be knowing that these words exist. Spending some quality time outdoors help keep these at bay. The more greenery they see the better it is for their eyesight, after spending those long hours in front of their computers and gaming consoles. If your child’s teacher complains about your child being restless and having a short attention span, you can solve this issue by ensuring that your child spends time in the calm and relaxing arms of nature.
Here’s What You Need to Do Folks
Yes, it is but natural for you to be protective of your child because of the extreme weather conditions, rising crime rate, bullies and illnesses in the air. This may be a reason for you to keep your children indoors. On the contrary keeping your children indoors has a long term effect on their overall development. The way your child develops differs hugely when they play outdoors as compared to when they spend time indoors.
Keeping them indoors and occupied with their gadgets and ready supply of fast food adversely affects their people skills. They start lacking the ability to socialise and go forth and interact with new people and learn new things. This doesn’t really give your child a memorable and happy childhood. This is not only unhealthy for the mind but also results in child obesity.
Studies show that kids who are active are healthier and the parents have the ability to influence their lives. This little fact should be taken advantage of and you should allow your child to let lose outdoors. You can take an initiative in making your child’s every outdoor experience a memorable one, you can take them out camping or trekking over the weekend. If you live in a small community, you can take your kids out to the community play ground where not only your child can get acquainted to the children in your locality but so can you get to know the parents. In case you have toddlers and are worried about their safety you can always visit a children’s play area specifically built for children of that age while giving equal importance to their exhilarating outdoor experience.
It’s a plus if you have a backyard in your home. Here is what you can do
- Convert it into an adventure zone for your kids following a theme that they interested in.
- Occupy them during their summer break and help them build a fortress of their own
- Go crazy and build a nice little tree house at the end of an obstacle course.
These activities will help enrich your children’s ‘nature’al experience and will leave them wanting for more because it is something of their interest.
Safety is Key – For Kids and for Parents!
Apart from the great bonding experience with you children, you need to be vigilant of what your child is doing. It is very important that you supervise your children and keep an eye on them while they explore and get familiar with the surroundings. You need to take utmost care when you have a playground created with obstacles especially when you have toddlers frolicking around, since it the most accident prone area.
It is known that the outdoors is the best place for your child to play freely and explore the world around them. Whilst you ensure they get their time outdoors either in the park or in your backyard you should be careful while choosing equipment if you create the area yourself, you need to keep in mind safety and durability along with adhering to the theme. After all it is a place where the family as a whole has a good time and tend to lead longer, stronger and happier lives.