The Importance of Outdoor Play for Children

Awareness of the importance of children spending time outdoors seems to have grown considerably in recent years. A phrase I often heard when working in nurseries was ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing’. So why is spending time outside so important for children and their development? Below are just some of the ways an outdoor environment can support children’s well being and their learning and development.

Spending time in the outdoors can support children to;

• Develop social skills – for some children a busy indoor environment with lots of furniture, bright colours and activities on offer can feel very overwhelming and lead to them not engaging as well. Getting outside, in some space can help them to feel more comfortable to join in and interact with other children and adults. Later on, the experience can be drawn upon to encourage communication about their experiences.
• Understand risk – when outside children are often able to take part in larger scale activities than they can indoors. Construction activities with large cardboard boxes or with logs/branches, found in the woods, allow children to learn about their own capabilities and will help to foster a mindset in children where they want to ‘have a go’.
• Develop independence – the extra space that comes with spending time outdoors gives children a sense of freedom to make discoveries for themselves. They feel more free to develop their own ideas and create games with other children. I have witnessed this many times when working with a family I used to nanny for. We would often visit the local park where the older child would always play football with some friends from school and the younger child would like to play on the equipment. The younger child would always seem to find a new child to play with every time we visited the park and before long they would have developed their own game – which only they knew the rules of. Sometimes it would involve finding some twigs on the floor and laying them out in order or it may be a little obstacle course they made up but whatever it was they were always smiling, until it was time to leave!
• Appreciate nature – Being outside and experiencing nature, animals, the weather, etc. helps children to develop their understanding of things such as habitats and lifecycles, how the weather can affect the environment (puddles, mud, slippery surfaces on wet days, hard, dry ground when there has been hot dry days), the differences between what they can see, hear and smell during the four different seasons … and so much more!
• Develop physical skills – physical development is one of the three prime areas of learning identified in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Being in a large outdoor space allows children to move in ways they often cannot indoors, giving them the opportunity to develop their use of different muscles. They can run with their arms outstretched flapping like wings, they can roll down a hill or hang from a climbing frame. Children who are given the opportunity to master control of making large movements will often find it easier to master the skills needed for smaller movements such as those needed for writing.

What are you waiting for? Find some appropriate clothing and get out and enjoy experiencing the great outdoors with your children!

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