Play Time

Let the children play:

Reading, playing outside, and playing in general shouldn't be optional; taking that away can be detrimental to a child's long-term mental and physical health. Some of the benefits are obvious, but some of them are ideas we may not often think about. For example, obviously playing outside is a great way for kids to get physical exercise and move their bodies. It's a great way to improve motor skills, such as balance, agility, and dexterity, but it also teaches kids about taking risks in the real world and becoming resilient. Harvard Health puts it this way: Children need to take some risks. As parents, this makes us anxious; we want our children to be safe. But if we keep them in bubbles and never let them take any risks, they won’t know what they can do — and they may not have the confidence and bravery to face life’s inevitable risks. Yes, you can break an arm from climbing a tree — and yes, you can be humiliated when you try to make a friend and get rejected. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try; the lessons we learn from failure are just as important as those we learn from success. That sort of risk-taking builds confidence, too. Harvard also points out that this sort of unstructured playtime that forces kids to amuse themselves by making up fun activities and figuring things out on their own allows kids to practice important cognitive skills like planning, troubleshooting, multitasking, prioritizing, and negotiating. Kids who take part in unstructured physical activity, whether it's indoors or outside, tend to sleep better, be in a better mood afterward, and have better social skills. Other potential benefits of playing outdoors include an increased appreciation and curiosity for nature, independence, engagement of all five senses (which can be especially beneficial for toddlers and preschoolers), more creative thought, and, in settings where there are other kids to play with, better communication skills. Kids aren't going to get all of that from a phone, computer, or TV.

Past generations knew this...