The Benefits Of Outdoor Play

With summer just around the corner, kids will soon be out of the classroom and parents will need to keep their little ones busy to prevent hearing those dreaded two words: “I’m bored!” We connected with Tania DaSilva, who specializes in counselling, interventions, treatment, and therapeutic activities, through our friends at Toys R Us, to speak to various outdoor play activities and their importance for children’s development. —Vita Daily

Hi Tania! Please tell us a bit about yourself to start.

I’m the clinical director of Behaviour Matters, a mental health and social-emotional development clinic. I’m a child, youth, and family therapist and a Toys “R” Us brand ambassador. I love using creativity and interactive methods to teach and develop mental health and social-emotional skills in those I support! I love being outdoors; it’s an instant mood booster, and I highly encourage it, especially during the short summer months!

With summer just around the corner, and the kids soon out of school, us parents will need to keep our little ones busy to prevent hearing those dreaded two words, “I’m bored!” How can outdoor play solve this age-old problem?

To me, outdoor play can break up the day and combat boredom! It provides an escape from screen time and opens up new outlets and interests! I encourage parents to use it to exhaust excess energy and revitalize, boosting our mood and energy levels.

We can venture outdoors to enjoy the elements, bask in the sun, relish the fresh air, and appreciate water – whether that’s at the beach, a park, or in our backyard with sand and water tables, inflatable pools, or the Little Tikes Splash and Spray Inflatable Bounce House!

Being active outdoors is straightforward; we don’t have to overcomplicate it. Going for hikes or walks is sufficient. Even just pushing our little ones around in a Mini Cooper push car gets them outside and excited! I adore the park as a convenient outing close to home with built-in friends. Playing sports or simply allowing our children to clamber around on a KidKraft Clubhouse and swing set in the backyard can give parents a much-needed break! The shift to an outdoor environment enables kids to exercise their minds through imagination and their bodies through movement in less restrictive and more fun ways!

We can encourage them to be as active and engaged with the outdoor world as they wish or simply allow them to chill out, soak up some sun, and take a break from screen time with us. Using grounding and mindfulness techniques outdoors is a fantastic approach for re-regulation!

What are some of the top summer outdoor play activities (especially ones that are out of the box)?

I’ve mentioned a few above, but anything inflatable and water-related is super popular! Kids love to jump, splash and slide while they can! We get a short window of warmth, so these activities never get boring!

Play sets and anything kids can drive or ride seem to get a lot of attention in the summer too. They want to climb, swing, jump and ride around on or in anything with wheels! Obstacle courses, sports, and anything that can be made into a challenge or game are also well-received! Using the outdoors helps us do this more successfully and avoids destruction indoors!

How does outdoor play impact children’s development?

Taps into curiosity and exploration: Children are natural explorers and discoverers. Having them outside plays into that trait, and providing them with complementary toys and resources can make this a lot more fun! For example, water toys, shovels, or even a magnifying glass can help them explore and discover the outside world.

Builds physical strength and health: There’s an obvious link between improving physical health by allowing them to run, jump, climb, and be active! This can be done through sports toys and equipment, a skipping rope, or even an old favourite created with chalk for hopscotch. As a child spends more time outside, they face more opportunities and fewer limitations to get physical and active, which is why play structures are so popular! Outside play can encourage regular exercise in adulthood, improved strength, motor skills, sleep, and potentially immune function!

Provides new ways to develop social-emotional skills: When we play outdoors, we are presented with many new ways to develop our social-emotional skills through different environments, interactions, and play. Some skills developed include problem-solving, turn-taking, cooperation, communication, self-awareness, encouragement, independence, resilience, self-control, confidence, safe risk-taking, boundaries, rule-following, empathy, and more!

Provides regulation outlets: Movement breaks, and opportunities can stimulate the senses, help with stress reduction and release, and regulate different emotions and energies. Changes to the body can also serve to regulate through the outdoor elements: heat, cold, air, water, and sunlight can all change and impact our mood in different ways, either tiring us out or giving ourselves a boost of energy or happiness!

Invites new contexts for learning: Outdoor spaces can expand learning spaces and brain development through a break from in-class learning. It can take things like STEM outdoors and practice in that setting or bring the outdoors in to continue the learning. It provides a real-world arena and more freedom and fun for learning, growth, regulation, development of new skills, and interest in new topics!

What are your best tips and tricks to make sure that parents are able to support their children as they blossom and grow throughout the summer?

My best and simplest tip is to consider the benefits of development and tap into even a few benefits by planning summer activities more mindfully. You can create a list of options and have kids pick from your list. Of course, always ask them what they’d like to do and consider what category those options may fit into or how you can adapt them to be outdoor-friendly!

Parents can create schedules to follow along and create routines during the summer, or they can create pick bowls or lists with options to use when kids say they are bored! Redirecting them to pick something from the bowls or lists to help with summer planning. I love to separate them by activities easily done around the neighbourhood or adventures that may take more planning and coordination. This helps avoid disappointment if they pick something you can’t make happen at the moment! Family planning is the key to a successful summer outdoors!

How about some outdoor activities both kids and adults can enjoy doing together?

Parents can incorporate their kids’ interests into any activity. I always consider two things: how they can play independently and how I can join in! When thinking about play structure, what can they do without you? Climb, slide, etc. Maybe they need you to swing or encourage them, which is a great moment for you to join in. Consider each activity you pick or consider and use the “you & we” strategy for planning-How can you enjoy this on your own? How can we enjoy this together?

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