Playground design & build specialists
04/07/2017 Blog

7 Ways the Outdoors Benefits a Child

It's no rare occurrence these days to be reading-up about the negative impact of children spending more time inside, than outside. Whether that's playing the latest console, digital gadget or fidget spinner (yes, very addictive indoors and outdoors), children who lose touch with the outdoors really are effecting their health and well-being - especially at an early age.

You'll notice on many of Newby Leisure's social media feeds (please see Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) our passion for the outdoors is delivered in many ways. Our collective love for the outdoors shines on throughout our playground developments, timber play resources (now available online) and pretty much everywhere we go.

So, being as summer is trying to be kind to us this year, we've collated 7 key tips we believe children benefit from when outdoors:

1. Learning
It's still hard to imagine that many children believe learning only happens in the classroom - wrong! Playing outside is a fantastic way for children to develop learning abilities. Learning through play helps children to learn new skills, both social and educational which they can then take back to the classroom. As well as this, outdoor learning encourages children to think of learning as an ongoing process instead of just something done in the classroom.

2. Creativity
Every child loves to get creative, and the outdoors is the perfect place for it. By going outside children’s imaginations blossom and they become stimulated - the perfect combination to get their creative juices flowing. You'd be surprised to learn that going outside for just a few minutes a day is enough to reduce a child's stress levels, hence, more creativity.

3. Health
The outdoors is a very big and inviting playground. With more room to hop, skip, jump and climb, children are often more active when outside. Because there is no 'four wall' confinement, being outside helps bones to build stronger and boost fitness levels. Being in the sunshine also helps children to naturally absorb that all important vitamin D! So, more time outdoors = healthier, fitter children and the odd tired out one too - job done!

4. Social skills
Social skills play a massive part in everyday life. Getting children into the habit of interacting with each other from a young age is a must. Being outdoors doesn't offer the same intimidation of being around a classroom desk, so in many cases you'll see children more willing to join in games and activities. This will all work towards encouraging new friends, boosting self-esteem and confidence.

5. Well-being
Being outdoors brings a calmness to children. The freedom of running around in the sunshine, (even winter sun) feeds children with all important natural vitamins (such as vitamin D) which are proven to help improve moods and positive attitudes. All children retain energy, so shaking this off in a natural environment benefits their well-being and helps towards making them more focused in a classroom.

6. Independence
Being away from adult supervision is a dream for children - another reason they should love going outside. As we all know, we'd never competently take our eyes off them, but it's nice for children to think they're being unsupervised in the outdoors. This will help them become more independent, as well as learning to play by themselves and with others. You will notice big differences in the way children interact when they believe nobody is watching too. Generally, they will be more decisive and act upon instinct, instead of waiting for a prompt by a teacher or parent.

7. Explore
Outdoor play equipment can help children to learn to push their boundaries and become better at risk assessment. Exploring should play a massive part in a child's early development as it will help them to find themselves and discover a bit more about their capabilities. It also teaches them to become more confident in learning to try new things without being guided by adults.

We hope you've enjoyed reading this blog post. Please do share it if you feel it has been beneficial. Below is a diagram in relation to the above tips.

Don’t for get to follow Newby Leisure on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit our new online shop to for play resources that may help boost your child’s activity levels.

"Together, we're better"