The days are longer, the air is warmer – summer is finally here. It’s that glorious time of year when we can all step outside and soak in the sunshine. While it may seem that often the great outdoors loses the battle for our kids’ attention to screens, the changing season brings fresh opportunities for outdoor play and learning. According to Bright Horizons’ Senior Manager of Learning and Development Claire Goss, the positive impact of outdoor play on children’s well-being and development is crucial.
Let’s dive into the link between outdoor play and healthy risk-taking, and explore the benefits it offers your child.
What to know about outdoor play
The advantages of being outdoors extend far beyond simply getting some fresh air. Being in nature has a powerful impact on child development in the following ways:
- Boosts mental and emotional wellbeing: connecting with nature is a well-known mood booster for people of all ages, fostering a sense of calm and reducing stress. The fresh air, sunshine, and unstructured opportunities work wonders for your child’s attention span, mood, and even sleep quality. You may even reconnect with our own inner child while you’re at it!
- Unlocks discovery and STEM skills: the outdoors is a living laboratory where children can observe nature, experiment with natural materials, and develop an intuitive understanding of science.
- Fuels creativity and imagination: without structured toys, the natural world becomes a blank canvas for imaginative play, encouraging children to invent games, solve problems, and express themselves creatively. You don’t need a national park as your backyard to give your child the gift of outdoor play- a patch of mud, a stick, and imagination is often all it takes.
- Cultivates healthy risk-taking: whether it’s navigating playground equipment or exploring a park, the outdoors provides countless opportunities for children to challenge themselves physically, build resilience, and foster a growth mindset. That wobbly first climb on the monkey bars, the careful descent from a tree stump – these are examples of healthy, safe risks that contribute to a child’s growth.
- Enhances budding skills: your child’s gross motor skills, coordination, and balance are put to the test (physical development); they are cultivating resilience and self-awareness of their body’s capabilities (social-emotional development); their attention span, focus, problem-solving abilities, and confidence can be vastly improved (cognitive development).
Embracing the outdoors
In our technology-driven world, it’s more important than ever to prioritize outdoor play and exploration. Make it a point to spend time outside with your children every day, regardless of the weather (barring extreme conditions, of course).
Remember, a little dirt and a few scrapes are small prices to pay for the invaluable lessons and experiences gained through outdoor play and healthy risk-taking. Our role as parents is to provide a safe environment for exploration while allowing our children the freedom to challenge themselves and grow. By striking this balance, we nurture confident, capable individuals ready to take on the world.
Hear more from Bright Horizons’ early childhood experts, Claire Goss and Rachel Robertson, on how to help your child try new things, build skills, and discover what their body can do on this episode of Teach. Play. Love.
Interested in learning more about Bright Horizons centers in the DC/MD/VA area? We have over 25 high-quality child care centers so we’re never too far from your home or workplace. Find a center near you and schedule a visit today!
