Fitness and Fun: Taking Family Fun Outdoors
Studies have shown that reading to children regularly is more beneficial to their overall lifelong success than any kind of educational toys or activities. Similarly, encouraging children to spend time playing outdoors has been shown to lead to increased productivity, health, and success. In fact, one of the best ways of giving kids a head start in life is to get them out of the house and into the garden.
Getting their hands dirty when playing in the garden is the best way for youngsters to develop their skills and learn about their environments. Good thing is that there are companies who come up with inventions to make the outdoors safe. For instance, MOOWY grass seed will allow children to roll on the grass and have different activities without encountering risks.
From the time babies are very small, they will be able to appreciate being outdoors. Mothers around the world know that crying babies or grizzling toddlers can often be distracted with interesting stuff to look at or sounds to listen to – and there is a lot of interesting stuff like this in gardens.
Sensory Learning and Motor Skills
It is essential for children’s healthy development that they get plenty of exposure to natural objects with different sensory characteristics.
Hands-on outdoor play stimulates several senses at once. Youngsters get to experience the feeling of the grass on their bare feet, the smell of the flowers, the sound of birds twittering, and the sight of nature’s rich colour palette.
A safe-ish outdoor environment is also essential for children to learn about using their bodies. They must sit, lie, stand on their heads, and roll over – preferably somewhere nice and soft where there are no sharp edges to crash into. Climbing trees is also indicated – especially when there is a nice springy lawn underneath the trees to cushion any little tumbles.
Exercise
Young children always seem to have a lot of energy. They need space to get outside, run around, and make a noise.
In our modern world, there’s a real risk that children won’t get the exercise that’s so essential to their development. Especially in urban areas, there isn’t much reason for anyone to run or walk more than very short distances. Activities like cycling, swimming, climbing trees, or playing ball games no longer play a large part in most people’s schedules.
But everyone who is fortunate enough to have a nice big lawn can see for themselves how children thrive when they have a nice safe space for these kinds of active play!
The Sun and its Benefits
One of the biggest challenges of having a baby in the family can be sleep disruption. However, spending time in the garden – getting fresh air and sunshine – has been shown to help babies sleep better.
People are now quite sensitised to the danger of too much exposure to direct sunlight. Everybody knows to use sunscreen and wear protective clothing and eyewear. But on the other hand, too little exposure to sunlight can also be harmful.
Our bodies need sunlight before they can produce vitamin D, which is essential for many of the body’s functions. Aside from being required for vitamin D production, an appropriate amount of sun also promotes immune function and healthy sleep.
Unstructured Play
Compared with previous generations, children today tend to spend more time doing structured activities, often overseen by adults, and spend much less time on unstructured play. They don’t just ‘Go outside and play’ for hours on their own: they expect to be told what they have to do, when, where, and for how long.
However, when children’s activities are rigidly structured, those children may not get the opportunities they need to develop some essential skills. Planning, prioritising, negotiating, and problem-solving are essential skills for anybody to develop and maintain, but they’re not needed when someone else dictates what activities children must do, and how, and when, and for how long.