The Benefits Of Free Outdoor Play
This post is sponsored by the Voice of Play. #YearRoundPlay
When you have three children that are anxious to get outdoors and play when the air gets warmer, you start planning fun outdoor activities! There are so many benefits of free outdoor play and I hope this post inspires you to get out with the kids and have some free fun. Whether it’s a picnic at a local park or an afternoon at a playground, taking advantage of free resources in your community is a great way to save money and create new memories! The Voice of Play is an education and advocacy initiative of the non-profit membership association formed to educate and promote the benefits of children’s free outdoor play and playgrounds. Through the Voice of Play website and social media properties, IPEMA highlights the scientifically proven physical, social, emotional and cognitive benefits of play.
The weather here in Georgia has been gorgeous these past few months! While our family up north is experiencing a few feet of snow, we have been taking advantage of temperatures that have reached the 70’s!
The kids also enjoy playground hopping, we have several local favorites that we frequent. The climbing wall is always the first place my son runs to and one of his favorite playground activity. Research shows that outdoor play is much more than just fun, it’s necessary to help your kids to be physically fit and healthy. When kids are playing, they are learning reflexes and movement control, developing fine and gross motor skills and increasing flexibility and balancing skills. There are also internal benefits that free play provides, like a child’s emotional development. Free play has an important role to a child’s emotional growth, and research has pointed to three areas where play helps children develop emotionally: building self-confidence and esteem; experimenting with various emotions; and releasing emotions from trauma.
We can all agree that being cooped up in the house all winter is no fun for kids and they are more than ready to get outside and be free. There is something about the fresh air and sun that gets my kids in happier moods and as a result… they actually get along better! Just when I thought my kids were ready for some time away from each other, they are grouped back up and playing together again on the slides. I feel like our family is all together happier when we spend time outdoors together! Free outdoor play is beneficial for your child’s physical health, emotional development, self confidence, self esteem, social skills, independence, group interaction, cognitive skills, brain and skill development and so much more!
