Importance of Outdoor Play in Early Years
/Earlier this year, I did an interview with Wanderr, an online guide to activities for kids on the Sunshine Coast and surrounds. I know one of the founders directly and they’ve done an awesome job putting together their website & social media pages so you can easily find out if somewhere is pram & wheelchair friendly, what amenities are available, what ages it suits, useful tips on what to bring to make the most of your time there and lots of other cool stuff that every time-poor parent with kids who needed to be entertained wants to know before setting out!
Interview on the Importance of Outdoor Play in the Early years below!
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There are so many benefits to unstructured play and time outside as children learn best through movement and interaction with their environment. We have an abundance of structured sport, so why an increase in bad posture, pains and injuries?
Here at Wanderr, we were contemplating the importance of getting kids to play and explore outside. We wanted to know if there was anything we, as parents, could be doing to further our children's early developmental milestones. We enlisted the expertise of a qualified physiotherapist, to share her knowledge and answer our burning questions.
Our expert, Sissy - a physiotherapist with special interest in women's health, paediatrics and disability, helps us to understand the why, what and how of outdoor play. Growing up today looks a lot different! We are privileged to have technology for a quick google search of ‘best playgrounds on the Sunshine Coast’ or ‘things to do with a 2 year old’. However, it has become easy to rely on screen time to entertain our kids as we experience more pressure, balance work and attempt to practice self care.
The following paragraphs are from Sissy, professional physiotherapist answering with her experience and knowledge.
Why get outside?
Therapy doesn’t have to be therapy and movement doesn't have to be sport!
All kids are different but the sad trend I've seen working in paediatrics, especially in the older pre-teen population is that our kids aren't moving enough, aren't getting outside as much and aren't exploring and moving for the simple point of just exploring and moving!
We have kids that spend hours in front of the screens for downtime or school (even more so now with so many needing to home school), kids that play lots and lots of structured sport (and whose parents run around juggling all these)... yet we have more bad posture, aches, pains and injuries.
I remember spending hours in summer (we had daylight savings in Melbourne where I grew up) on the empty block next door collecting caterpillars, doing cartwheels and hiding in the grass with my sisters. No set time, organised activity or adult-led input (other than to not go too far and to be careful if cars came lol)
What skills are my children learning from outside play?
When you include more unstructured play and time outside, you get so many benefits: incidental movement, balance, coordination, fine and gross motor skills, motor planning plus vitamin D, fresh air, bonding time, connection to nature, sensory exploration, learning road rules - the best thing is you don't plan any of this for that purpose, it's just FUN!
Children learn best through movement and being able to see and interact with their environment is one reason why speech often comes once they are able to move around more independently.
We can't force or make them do – and in the past we definitely didn't need to as it came naturally.
How do I get my kids to move more?
If your little one has developmental delays or lacks motivation, then it's our responsibility to give them opportunities for better movement - and that doesn't necessarily mean putting them into structured sport, more activities or hand holding. When given the space and free time, kids will naturally move and do more – eventually! Pro tip: don't stress they're bored and try to fill the time – boredom is a good thing and allows them to think creatively!
Activities/Games to play outside requiring minimal equipments/supplies?
Try:
- Going for a walk with no agenda and collecting interesting rocks and leaves. We like to make leaf and rock ‘soup’ then throw the stones in a nearby river
- Hanging off the trolley rails at the supermarket (watch there's no cars!)
- Getting together with a friend for an outside playdate or somewhere like Chipmunks vs a Café - they copy what other kids do so make sure their playmate isn't one who just wants to sit on their iPad!
- Building rock towers
- Getting the scooter or bike out
- Climbing trees
- Playing tiggy (tag), Red Light, Green Light (we called it ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?), hopscotch or just getting out in your cul-de-sac or street with the neighbourhood kids
- Getting them involved in gardening, watering plants or finding bugs outside
And you'll find you feel better for it too!
Wanderr had some specific questions for Physiotherapist Sissy, we hope you find them helpful and insightful as we have both needed the expertise of physiotherapists for our little ones past and present. Violet as a baby and Archie just recently.
Q: When would there be a concern or need to see a physiotherapist for kids?
A: I always say, mum’s instinct is usually always right - if you think something is not quite right, then get it checked out as the treatment is usually always easier and faster the earlier the problem is picked up.
In terms of more objective things to look out for: asymmetrical movements or side preference (eg. only ever looks to one side, doesn’t seem to use one leg), pain, excessive rigidity or ‘floppiness’, not being interested in movement and exploring their environment - not because they’re lazy as all kids inherently want to explore but often because movement is hard for them for some reason – and that’s one of my jobs as a paediatric physio to find out and help them overcome.
Remember too, that developmental milestones are very broad so we generally are looking for more clinical indications of underlying issues rather than specific timeframes.
Saying that, if an otherwise undiagnosed child is not holding their head upright by 3months, sitting independently by 7-8 months, crawling by 12 months or showing signs of getting upright, standing or taking steps by 12-14 months then it may be worth getting an assessment.
Q: A piece of advice for parents to help give children confidence in the playground/exploring?
A: Don’t be so worried about them getting hurt, getting bored or that you have to give them ’activities’ to do. The biggest hurdle to confident and efficient movement that I see in kids is often us!
It’s natural to worry and to think that we need to occupy them but kids gain confidence by doing things incorrectly, falling, ’failing’ then getting to try again, but better. It’s our job to also give them those opportunities to explore their environment and giving them unstructured time to get bored is one of the best ways to do this.
Practice, practice, practice - no kid is going to get confident climbing or moving when all they do is sit and not move.
Q: Are there any actions/ play that should be limited in growing bodies?
A: Too much sitting and too much screen time! Our kids are likely to spend most of their teenage/adult life on their phones/laptops/TV (as we can attest!) so, why start them off unnecessarily early? I’ve seen too many young kids come to see me with pain and issues associated with bad posture and being sedentary and that should not be happening.
And in young kids, that lies entirely on us - we’re the adults and we can decide if and when they watch TV or play on our mobiles if at all. I understand the need for quiet time (for the parents) which is fine but screen time as a babysitter and in place of play and interaction with real people is not, at least not if we want our kids to be their healthiest, smartest and well balanced selves.
The American Academy of Paediatrics (Hill et. al, 2016) recommends the following:
No screen time for under 18-24 months - except for video chatting
18 to 24 months of age - if you want to introduce digital media, choose high-quality programming and use media together. Avoid solo media use
2 to 5 years of age - limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programming, co-view with them and help them understand what they’re seeing and how to apply to the real world
Conclusion:
Get outside with your kids! If you’re having a bad day just watch from afar, coffee in hand taking a few deep breaths. We know that being outside always clears the mind.
References:
David Hill, Nusheen Ameenuddin, Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, Corinn Cross, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Alanna Levine, Rhea Boyd, Robert Mendelson, Megan Moreno, Wendy Sue Swanson (2016). Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics November 2016; 138 (5): e20162591. 10.1542/peds.2016-2591. Accessed 30.12.2021, https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/5/e20162591/60503/Media-and-Young-Minds