Kids Need Playgrounds: 7 Key Reasons

Do you remember your childhood? Playgrounds were probably your favorite thing on the entire world. Your kid feels the same way about them.

If you don’t bring this kind of fun in their world, you won’t notice they need it, since they have the iPad to replace it. But if they experience it once, you’ll witness an incredible shift in their love for genuine play.

Kids today have everything. All kinds of books, all kinds of apps, and all kinds of kid areas in malls. Why would they need a playground on top of everything? We’ll list 7 reasons that sound pretty convincing.      

Children Learn through Play

From a child’s perspective, learning and play are not separate practices. Swedish researchers conducted an observational study in 1995 to prove that.

It turned out that the kids who took part in experimental learning combined with play were better at passing first-grade tests than the other children in the same classes. In the higher grades, these differences were not so obvious, but the children that learned through play were still better at math and writing.

The Playground Provides the Perfect Off-Screen Entertainment

You buy a new device and you still don’t know how to handle it, but your kid will immediately access the App Store, download a few games, and start playing them straight away.

Today’s kids are technology smart; there’s no doubt about that. However, apps won’t teach them everything. They don’t provide real-world experience. Before you know it, this kid will be at high-school, ordering an essay about her childhood from AssignmentGeek.com.au because they will have no idea how to handle the assignment. Technology is okay in moderate doses, but it doesn’t necessarily make kids smarter. They need real-world experiences, too.

Playgrounds Offer Physical Benefits

Just ask children why they love to run, climb and jump, and you’ll probably get this answer: - Because it’s fun!

Yes; outdoor play is fun. But it’s also much more than that. It’s necessary for the healthy physical development of children. It improves their flexibility and balancing skills, as well as their overall motor skills. They learn how to control their movement and how to trust their instincts. Physical exercise also improves the function of the heart and lungs, and it helps children build stronger muscles. Ultimately, it prevents obesity and diabetes.

Playgrounds Have Emotional Benefits, Too

The physical benefits of play are obvious since it’s a physical activity. But there are also subtle changes in your child’s wellbeing that you don’t always recognize. Free play helps your kid develop self-confidence. When they see a physical obstacle, they are afraid to deal with it at first. But it’s also very fun and they see other kids doing it, so they start experimenting with their approach.

Sooner or later, you’ll see them climbing and conquering the obstacle. They realize that if they try and if they are brave enough, they can do it. Through this experience, they release traumatic emotions and learn how to deal with them.

Let’s Not Ignore the Social Benefits of Playgrounds

Whenever you visit a playground, there are kids there. It’s easy for your child to make connections since play is the medium. Playgrounds teach children important lessons about social norms and interacting with people. That’s something you can’t get from an iPad.

Solitary Play Is Good, Too

Although playgrounds are mostly social, they also offer opportunities for solitary play. Children gain benefits from these types of activities since they give them time to think, explore, and create.

If you see that your kid is not interacting with other kids as much as you’d like them to, you shouldn’t force them. Just let them be themselves on the playground. They will find creative ways to conquer the obstacles, as they get the freedom to use their imagination.

School Playgrounds Make Education More Fun

If your kid’s school has a playground, you’re a lucky parent because you’re making education a lot more fun for them. Researchers realized that school playgrounds have an important effect on a child’s learning and development. These facilities also had an effect on the attendance rate at primary schools.   

Most of all, playgrounds are fun. We should never deprive our children of safe fun! It takes an effort to take them to the playground and observe them all the time, but if it’s fun for the kid, it has to be fun for the parent, too.