Why You Should Let Your Kids Spend More Time Outdoors
Nature-deficit disorder is the phrase used to show that individuals, especially kids, spend less time outdoors. Statistics indicate that children spend at least seven hours each day in front of electronics, meaning today’s kids have swapped outdoor life with sedentary life. Discover some of the top reasons you should let your kids spend more time taking part in outdoor activities.
1. Reduced Body Mass Index
In 1980, statistics showed that only 7% of children hit the criteria for obesity. Today, experts show that one out of three children might be classified as obese. As more children continue to live sedentary lives, their health conditions only get worse.
There’s one primary reason for the increased obesity among kids: U.S. citizens spend more money on food but are loath to lead active lives. Children who spend more time outdoors, however, are less likely to have a high body mass index. That’s true because these kids end up being highly energetic and more active.
So, your kids should learn to spend less time watching videos and playing online games. If they run and jump outside, they’ll burn more calories and boost their health. Studies indicate a close relationship between kids’ body mass index and the amount of time they spend outside.
Kids who are allowed by their parents and guardians to spend more time outside have always recorded a low BMI. If your kids have close friends that also spend more time outdoors, they’ll want to be outside with them whenever they have the chance. Thus, you can benefit your kids by encouraging them to choose physically active friends. You can even look into sending them to a safe kids camp where they’ll make more active friends.
2. Improved Creativity
There are many things your kids can do when you let them play outside. Though most of them enjoy common games like soccer, playing on the swings, or sliding, some of them also enjoy playing imaginary games.
The chances are that as your kids spend more time outside, they’ll be able to come up with some unique games you’ve never seen before. Such games are great because they are a result of their pure imagination.
Provided children are in a group, they can produce different ideas to enhance their creativity. They might make up intricate stories, complex characters, and whole new worlds to make a simple outdoor setting all that more exciting. They can use all the ideas at the same time or choose the ones they feel are the best.
With a high level of creativity, your little ones can perform better in academics. They’ll earn better grades than their counterparts who want to sit at home and watch their favorite shows and play video games. Creativity can also benefit your children in many ways other than academics. It boosts emotional intelligence, reduces stress, and helps develop problem-solving abilities.
3. Enhanced Motor Skills
It’s okay to let your kids spend time indoors in cold months. But once the temperature outside has gotten better, you should let them go outside and improve their motor skills. After some time, you’ll likely notice that they have better motor skills compared to those who spend most of their time in the house.
Going outside more helps your children with improved agility, coordination, and balance. Kids who spend more time outside do unique things that challenge their muscles. Whenever children are outside, they tend to do a lot of running, climbing, walking, jumping, and throwing. These kids may also have high physical endurance since their bones will also be stronger and healthier.
It’s important to take part in activities that strengthen the body. These physical activities can help your little ones gain confidence in things they can do. If your kids have an interest in a particular sport, you can help them choose the right activities to take part in and develop the appropriate skills.
4. More Psychological Benefits
Psychological development among kids becomes easier when they spend more time playing outdoors. For instance, compared to kids who spend more time indoors, those who go outside regularly can easily recover from stress.
However, it’s imperative to understand that kids will have different experiences, based on what they do outdoors. Some of them can experience an improved level of concentration. If that happens, they can better grasp new concepts taught in class and other aspects of life.
If your children take more time engaging in nature walks, they’ll likely experience short-term mood improvement and recovery from any type of stress. It’s also believed that when children connect with nature, they can become more focused and attentive.
5. A Better Sense of Independence
It’s important to help your little ones develop a strong sense of independence. Though you might want to spend more time with your kids, most of them feel a sense of freedom when allowed to play alone at the park.
That’s the reason organizing a summer day camp should be at the top of your priority list when planning your next vacation. That sense of freedom plays an integral role in helping your children experience an enhanced sense of independence.
They can take as many risks as they want without feeling like you’re too much on their neck. From such risks, they can get results and keep learning as they spend more time outdoors. Aside from creating new games with their close friends, children can explore their boundaries and discover themselves when still young.
Spending more time outdoors allows your children to try things they wouldn’t be able to do if they were to stay in the house. Let them try to reach that net by jumping as high as they can, for instance. Those little things are the ones that will help transform your child into someone you’ll live to be proud of.
Once your child has discovered what they can do and what they can’t, they can begin working on improving their true potential. They’ll continue to gain confidence that can help them learn more things about life as they grow.
Contact Us
As a parent or guardian, we hope this piece helps you learn some of the reasons you should let your children spend more time at a safe kids camp. If you don’t have the time or financial capability to organize unique events, just let your children spend more hours in the backyard on weekends.
Even if your child prefers staying indoors and watching TV, you can change that for them without pushing too hard. For example, you can go outside with them for a few minutes each day and make sure they have the best time. After a few weeks or months, they’ll start going outside on their own.
Would you like to organize an event for your kids? Get in touch with Chartwell’s Happy Day Camp today, and we can help you with the process. Visit our website and see what we have in store for you. You can call us at (856) 983-8827, or send us an email via chartwell@chartwellfun.com. Also, feel free to visit our office located in Marlton, NJ.
