There are many physical and mental benefits associated with allowing toddlers and young children to regularly play outside at a playground or park. This is why it is so important that communities invest in their children and provide them with safe and clean playgrounds for them to play at. Here are a few of the various benefits associated with playgrounds.
Physical Benefits
Playgrounds provide children with a place to run, climb, jump and swing. This provides many physical benefits. Some of those specific physical benefits include:
Stronger Muscles and Bones
As children play on a playground, they can make their bones and muscles stronger. Playgrounds encourage many different activities, including climbing, jumping, running, sliding, and even actives that help with upper body strength. This helps to create a strengthened core and body that can carry them through life.
Improved Sleep
Children have a lot of energy. Taking them outside and allowing them to run around and burn off some of that energy can help them to sleep better at night. If you have a child who has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, taking them outside to play for 60 to 90 minutes a day may make a huge difference in the length and quality of their sleep.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Finally, encouraging children to play at a playground helps to encourage physical activity and exercise. This can help children to maintain a healthy weight not only during childhood, but throughout their life. Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best ways to help your child live a long and full life.
Mental Benefits
Playgrounds also provide many mental benefits. They are a place where children can meet friends, experience a wide range of emotions and play make believe. This provides mental benefits that include:
Expansion of Social Skills
Many children make friends or foes at the playground. Interacting with other children at the playground increases your child's social network and helps them to increase their social skills. They can learn how to properly interact with other children, how to set boundaries, and even how to handle conflict.
Expansion of Emotional Skills
Playgrounds can also be a great place for your child to learn new emotions and how to cope with those emotions. Playing at a playground can be fun and lighthearted, but some children experience other emotions like anger, frustration and determination. Teaching your child to recognize these emotions and how to cope can be a great learning experience.
Furthers Imagination and Creative Thinking Skills
Lastly, playgrounds provide a space for children to further their creative thinking skills. Children can imagine that they are on a pirate ship, playing in space, or that they are in a castle. Imagination and creative play has been shown to help increase a child's intelligence, further their language skills, and help them have an increased creative side later in life.
If your local community, HOA, preschool or school is looking to install a new playground, you may not realize all of the options that you can select from when it comes to playground equipment.
The team at Churchich Recreation and Design can help create the perfect play space to maximize the mental and physical benefits for the age group you are focusing on. Contact us today to learn more.