Why Is Nature Play Beneficial For A Child's Development?
29th July 2021
Educational experts have always encouraged parents to involve their kids in playing with nature because of its lifelong benefits. Nature play nurtures kids’ academic, emotive, social and physical development. Children practice an ever-changing and free-flowing situation while playing in nature that stimulates all the senses.
Recent studies have exposed the benefit or rather the necessity of spending time outdoors, both for kids as well as adults. Additionally, many studies have established the fact that most of the children who play outside are cleverer, happier, more concentrating, and less apprehensive than children who spend more time indoors. Nature play is any movement that gets kids active or thinking actively outdoors.
The Advantages of Nature Play for Children
Here are some of the major benefits of nature play for children in all-round development:
Build Confidence
Nature Play builds confidence among the children. The way children play in nature has a lot less structure than most kinds of indoor play. There are immeasurable ways to communicate with open-air surroundings, starting from the backyard, to the park to the local hiking trail or lake, letting your kid choose how he enjoys nature means he has the authority to control his own activities.
Emotional Assistances
By playing with nature, children are free to discover, move about, and make noise - all pleasant forms of self-expression that are frequently limited indoors. In nature, children can run, jump, hop, skip, climb, roll, and everything that relaxes, and lessens tension, anxiety, and restiveness. Numerous studies have found that contact with nature can diminish indications of ADHD and anxiety. Also, according to the Attention Restoration Theory, nature play lessens strain and fatigue. Generally, children who play outside use all their senses by exploring out-of-doors environments.
Physical Development
Nature play helps in improving motor skills, body mass index, overall health and muscle strength. Children who usually play outside are more likely to enjoy activities like walking, running and biking. Moreover, kids who spend more time playing outdoor are less probable to be obese as they are more active. Correspondingly, exposure to sunlight advances moods and reinforces immune systems.
Social Progress
Nature play also delivers a huge opportunity for social development in kids as well. When children spend time outdoor, they usually feel less overwhelmed as they are not in a narrowed space. It also has been observed that children who spend more time outdoor, develop stronger reasoning and observation skills. Young children are able to learn a number of social skills in nature play surroundings. By spending ample time outside, kids learn to appreciate the environment as well. Children who constantly play outdoors are more probable to get along with their peers.
Cognitive Development
Encouraging your child to spend time outside is also a good way to develop their intellectual abilities. Kids foster their organizational abilities and decision-making skills when they spend time outdoors. When kids play outdoors more, they meet other children as well and cultivate bonds with them. Nature play improves the communication skills of children without support from their parents. Also, by putting educational toys and learning materials outside, you can give your kids a chance to learn new information and skills by playing.
Indeed, open-air play will look different as children grow and change but it is beneficial to young children. Nature play is important for the cognitive and overall development of early learners and it is a crucial part of the certificate in early years care and education teacher training as well. It stimulates creativity and problem-solving skills essential to executive function development.
Written By : Park Jin Ae
