Summer is here! Kids need to play hard to develop skills and grow strong physically, mentally, and emotionally. Now is the perfect time to take the play outdoors, where kids can get the movement, sensory experiences, and social interactions to support development in a positive and healthy way.
Angela Hanscom, occupational therapist and founder of TimberNook Camps, suggests that all children should be playing outside for 3 hours a day. Ms. Hanscom recently authored the book Balanced adn Barefoot, spelling out exactly how and why development benefits from this time.
She recommends that this time to play be unrestricted, with limited parental involvement (depending on the child’s age and abilities). Benefits of outdoor play include physical strengthening, motor coordination and balance, problem solving, creativity, self-regulation and emotional expression, and social interaction.
I’ve compiled some of Ms. Hanscom’s tips for how to work this outside time into your child’s day.
- Identify the fears or concerns that cause us to limit a child’s outdoor time. Confront those fears by teaching the child the skills needed, such as how to watch for traffic, or providing tools such as walkie-talkies for communication.
- Consider hosting other children for a half or full day, instead of just an hour or two. Children need time to develop friendships and explore play schemes!
- Provide children with “loose parts” for play outside. Things like kitchenware, buckets, trays, boxes, or other “junkyard finds” that can be used, explored, and repurposed in play.
- Allow for age appropriate risk taking in play, which facilitates increased self-awareness, body awareness, problem solving, and creativity in children. A scraped knee isn’t a bad thing!
- Encourage outdoor play from a very young age. Babies and toddlers need sensory experiences like sitting on the grass, hearing a variety of sounds, and responding to visual input.
- By the age of 8 or 9, typical children are ready to be off on their own in the neighborhood. Decrease supervision as children gain skills to foster independence and confidence.
Want to know more, or curious where your child should be in outdoor play development? Contact STEPS today for an evaluation or conversation, and consider joining our Social Skills Groups.
You can read Angela Hanscom’s book Balanced and Barefoot, too. Learn more here.