IT’S IMPORTANT TO LET YOUR KIDS PLAY OUTSIDE
Playgrounds have been declining in number, and schools have cut down on playtime so children can catch up on academic work, so Emma says parents should encourage their kids to get outdoors
As a kid, I spent every spare second playing in the street or my garden. My childhood was glorious, thanks to my sense of freedom. Sadly, these kinds of childhoods are diminishing, thanks to parental fears, and what some are referring to as the “schoolification” of childhood.
LET THEM GAIN SKILLS
It’s important to help kids to do well at school and take up extracurricular hobbies, but they also need freedom to play outside. Kids who do this are more active, so they burn off excess energy and sleep better. The kind of unstructured play they enjoy outside also helps them to develop skills, so they better remember information, filter out distractions and sustain focus. You may think that to be developing they need their head buried in a book, but when they dream up scenarios like pretending to be pirates, their brain has to hold lots of information simultaneously; thinking up and remembering rules, involving their peers and regulating behaviour, which helps their development.
ENCOURAGE FUN
The recent British Children’s Play survey found that kids aren’t allowed to play outside on their own until they’re 11 now, while their parents were nine – and their play is less adventurous. Encourage your children to be daring; the occasional bump climbing a tree or graze from falling off a bike helps them self-regulate their feelings and reminds them that accidents happen, but are rare. Kids should see the world as a playground, not as a sea of dangers.
BE LESS STRUCTURED
If you live on a busy road and don’t have a garden, make time for outdoor play by meeting other mums at the local park. There, rather than organising a structured football match for them, let the kids play together freely while you all have a catch up. Learning is important, and children’s safety is key, but to build their confidence, willingness to take risks, communication and happiness, free playtime outdoors is just as crucial as structured education, so prioritise it.