Why Young Children Must Play Outside

Commentary

Summer is here. That means school holidays. For the best part of two months, children will spend large parts of their time playing with their friends outside. Or will they?

According to a Save the Children report, children play outside with their friends far less than they used to, with over a third (34 percent) now spending most of their playtime alone.

Now, before you blame it on COVID, it’s important to note that the playless problem existed long before the nasty virus brought the Western world to a screeching halt. COVID exacerbated the problem; it didn’t create it.

Which prompts the question: What did?

The playless problem is intimately associated with the rise in no-nonsense parenting styles. From helicopters to drones, bulldozers to tugboats, sherpas to snowplows, Britain has no shortage of hypervigilant, overprotective parents. There was a time, not that long ago, when free-range parenting, a style that centers around the mantra “let kids be kids,” was all the rage. Those days, however, appear to be long gone. With less free-range parenting, children have less time to do what children really love to do: play.

Today, according to the aforementioned Save the Children report, only one in four children play outside on a regular basis. Yes, that’s because they’re glued to screens, some will say. But that doesn’t appear to be the case. Many children report that they’ve been told by adults “to stop making noise,” to stop “playing ball games,” and to stop “climbing trees” when playing outside.

Commenting on the report, Helen Dodd, professor of child psychology at the University of Exeter, UK, warned that the lack of outdoor play will have dire “consequences for young people’s development.” As a society, she added, we’re not taking the playless problem seriously enough.

She’s right. We’re not. The benefits of play, especially playing outdoors with friends, can’t be emphasized enough. Playing isn’t just a way to kill time. It’s an investment of time. It helps children build resilience and character; it helps them develop invaluable social skills.

The behavioral scientist Coltan Scrivner recently lamented the demise of unsupervised play and the fact that rates of childhood anxiety continue to rise. Other serious health problems, such as depression and obesity, are also increasing. Research has shown that each additional hour spent outdoors is associated with seven more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity, an additional 762 steps, and an average of 13 fewer minutes spent in a sedentary state.

The evolutionary psychologist Peter Gray has demonstrated the many ways in which unstructured and self-directed play helps build confidence and gives children a sense of control. As anyone who has suffered from anxiety clearly knows, the mental condition is often caused by a perceived lack of control. Adventurous childhood play acts as a buffer against anxiety. When children are allowed to experience genuine feelings of excitement and adventure, and take age-appropriate risks, they thrive. The activities must be self-chosen and self-directed. Unstructured play isn’t the same as organized sports. Play devoid of predetermined rules and parental input promotes cognitive development; it improves language skills and boosts creativity. Moreover, unstructured play aids in a child’s physical and emotional development. Children must be allowed—no, actively encouraged—to stretch their imaginations, to dream up far-fetched scenarios, to make mistakes, and to laugh.

Remember when we used to laugh? Healthy children laugh as much as 400 times per day; an average, healthy adult, meanwhile, laughs only 15 times in a given day.

Unstructured play is intimately associated with the best medicine in town, laughter. Research clearly shows that laughter really is a potent medicine. Not only does it strengthen one’s immune system by decreasing stress hormones and increasing immune cells, but laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the feel-good chemicals that put you in a positive state of mind. Moreover, by synchronizing emotions within a group, laughter acts as a social glue of sorts. It brings people together. Of course, laughter can also be weaponized to intimidate another person or group, but that’s not the kind of laughter I’m talking about. I’m talking about compassionate, heartful laughter, not cruel, heartless laughter.

Play fosters laughter, and laughter fosters cooperation.

Contrary to popular belief, play isn’t just something children do (or used to do). It’s an activity open to all individuals, the young and the not-so-young. But it’s especially important for children. So, this summer, please let your children play outside. Allow them to explore. Allow them to do what children love to do. Allow them to be happy.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.