outdoor play
b &arefoot Balanced
Today's kids have adopted sedentary lifestyles, but more and more studies show that children need 'rough and tumble' outdoor play in order to develop their sensory and motor functions. paediatric occupational therapist, angela J Hanscom, tells mm how unrestricted outdoor play makes for strong, confident and capable children...
rounds and shortened the length of swings, and changed the way our children play in order to keep them safe. As a result, children have fewer opportunities for unstructured outdoor play than ever before, and play times at school are shrinking due to demanding educational environments where exams are all important at a younger and younger age. Giving your children time to engage in free play is like giving them a very special
T 62MODERNMUM Autumn 2016
oday it's rare to find children climbing trees in the park and doing cartwheels in the garden. We've taken away merry-go-
giſt - a giſt that keeps on giving, preparing children for adulthood by cultivating and nurturing essential life skills. Play allows children opportunities to get creative, to practise regulating emotions, to enhance social development, and even to learn about themselves in the process. Having the ability to play away from the
adult world opens up many opportunities and feelings of freedom. It is fertile ground, a blank slate on which children develop their own stories and preferences. Children take ownership over their play experiences and get creative with what is around them. A stick can become a wand, a weapon, a
fishing pole, a horse on which to gallop, a building material, or a tool. Leaves can become an ingredient for soup, a prop for art, medicine, money, decor, and so on. Te possibilities are endless. Trough play and risk taking, children
also learn about themselves. Tey learn their interests, their abilities, and how to regulate their emotions. Children learn to work through frustrations, fear, and anxiety as they successfully climb onto large rocks to have a picnic with friends or by having to negotiate a new play scheme because a friend just threatened to not play if they didn't.
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