Why outdoor play in the garden is essential for children’s health and development in the digital age
Getting children off screens and into the outdoors is vitally important for their health – we explore how parents can make play a pleasure
Our European neighbours in France are looking to limit screen time for children and all around the world countries from China and Taiwan, to Sweden and Finland are putting in place bans or restrictions as authorities tot up the cost of our young people sitting glued to electronic devices for hours at a time.
Rising obesity levels, increasing myopia (short-sight) and anxiety in even very young children have been linked to screen use. And just as the evidence is mounting for getting children off screens, so research is pointing to the importance of them being instead in the outdoors.
Outdoor play helps kids burn off energy, countering that obesity problem. One study found the children who spent at least two hours a day outside had 27 per cent more moderate to vigorous activity than children who did not. Yet fewer than half of five to 16-year-olds get the government’s recommended 60 minutes’ exercise a day.
But more than just keeping their weight down, it helps them develop their larger muscles and core strength. And it’s only in recent times, as the amount of time children have spent playing outdoors has fallen dramatically, that we have realised how important that is. Schools and nurseries now report of children falling off their chairs in the classroom as they don’t have the core strength to sit.
And we also now know that movement is key to children’s development and learning – for example, if they learn to build and control the muscles in their shoulders and arms by pulling themselves up a tree or a climbing frame, they are learning the large motor skills which will allow them to control the muscles in their hands and fingers which they will need to write.
Just being in a green space reduces anxiety and boosts emotional wellbeing in all of us – young or old. Children feel less restricted outdoors, they are able to be noisier and more curious, all of which boosts their imagination, creativity, social skills and, perhaps most importantly, their happiness. They even get a good dose of vitamin D.
But even knowing all of this, the magic key is getting them to put the screens down and get outside without turning into a nag or making the whole exercise fraught and angry.
There’s no way of turning back the clock decades to when it was easier to allow kids to play in the streets – before they were filled with cars – or head to the local park either.
Use your outdoor space
So if you are lucky enough to have a garden, make it a haven for play, a space so appealing your kids will shoot through the back door to get to it the moment they’ve come in through the front.
Good habits start young so invest in your garden as a place they’ll want to spend lots of time in. Make it a safe space where they can challenge themselves – with you watching from the kitchen window.
Invest in equipment which will have a long life, which will challenge and excite them for years to come, as well as fuel their imagination, such as swings, sand pits, climbing frames and monkey bars.
One great example is the range from family-owned firm Dunster House, which includes a range of climbing frames which are currently cut price in their summer sale. Swings, climbing walls, monkey bars and slides are available in different combinations, all with free anchors
Dunster House owner Alex Murphy says: “Outside play is key in early childhood development, providing children with the opportunity to work on coordination, problem-solving abilities and burn energy. Our climbing frames are a great way to help kids improve all three!"
To find out more about Dunster House and their products click here.