Outdoor play can keep kids healthy and develop family bonds

It is often said that children spend too much time indoors these days. It’s common knowledge that technological advancements have provided a multitude of indoor entertainment options that just didn’t exist in the past. Therefore a child’s attention is more divided; and consequently they many spend less time outdoors than they would have previously.

As parents we have to look at the positives of encouraging outdoor play, and how it can benefit our children. It’s a healthy, nurturing and natural activity that positively aids kid’s development. Therefore it should be encouraged as often as possible. In addition to this it can build strong mother child bonds creates a more holistic and positive relationship overall.

If you have young children then it’s best to mainly keep their independent outdoor play in an environment that is controlled and safe. For most people this will be the family garden. Letting kids play independently in the garden allows them to develop in terms of creativity, problem solving and helps generate an interest in new things. There is a lot to discover in a garden in terms of wildlife and objects that will be new and unknown to your kid(s). Knowing that your garden is relatively safe, you can allow your children to interact and learn how things work at their own pace. As long as you keep an eye on them to make sure they’ve not gotten into any bother everything should be okay.

There’s also a lot of opportunity for the outdoors to create stronger relationships and bonds between mothers and children. There are a lot of outdoor games that you can play to help your children develop both mentally and physically. Explorative games are amongst the best of these such as ‘treasure hunts’ or following clues to reach a final objective. This allows you to interact with your kid as they develop their cognitive functions. Undoubtedly they will reach stumbling blocks which will allow you to give them clues, hints and help them achieve their goal. Interactive play is great fun (and can be achieved indoors with games consoles and other games), but being outdoors is much healthier and more positive.

Studies have shown that regular outdoor play helps to give children independence. It can also build a mental skill set that can be drawn on in other areas of life such as academia (Clements 2004). Therefore it is important in building a fundamental block of attributes that can/will help your child throughout life.

Unfortunately if you’ve got a family garden that is used for play and activities then chances are it’ll be fairly messy. It’s very hard (if not impossible) to keep an ornamental garden with kids running around. However there are steps you can take to have a functional family space that works for both parents and children. Regular mowing, raking and treatment of a lawn will help reduce damage from people running across it. If grass is longer or there is debris, the lawn bed is more susceptible to scoring and skid marks from pulling and wear. You just have to do what you can to keep the garden tidy and presentable whilst allowing your children to have fun, play and develop.

This article was provided by Peter McAllister from SGM a UK based company that provides garden machinery and lawn care equipment. See their range of lawn scarifiers here.

Image credit:  mikebaird on Flickr