It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, but kids riding bicycles, throwing a ball, or playing in the yard are nowhere to be found. Where are the children? According to statistics, they are likely watching TV or gaming on devices.
Unfortunately, too much screen time can have a harmful effect on children. Plus, children are missing out on the incredible benefits of outdoor play.
How big is the problem?
The Kaiser Family Foundation reports children ages 8-18 get an average of 7.5 hours of daily screen time. And that’s only counting screen time for entertainment, not educational purposes. In one year, that adds up to 114 days spent looking at a screen for fun.
Meanwhile, the average American child spends only four to seven minutes a day involved in unstructured play outside.
Here we will explain why children should ditch screens for sunshine, plus give you some fun ideas to encourage outdoor play!
Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our FREE Personal & Family Values. This printable provides a great opportunity for your family to explore and identify values that can help guide you and your children in making the right choices.
7 Benefits to Outdoor Play
7 Powerful Benefits of Outdoor Play
Playing outside inspires creativity, builds confidence, and teaches responsibility. And the benefits of playing outside don’t stop there—here are seven important reasons to limit screen time and encourage outdoor play.
1. It Inspires Creativity
As outdoor play has decreased, creativity scores (measured by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) have steadily declined since 1990. The most significant decrease is seen in kindergarteners through third graders.
Boosting creativity is important because it’s a vehicle for self-expression and a foundational skill for managing emotions and solving problems. It also promotes language, literacy, and social development.
Playing outside encourages exploration and activates children’s natural sense of wonder, curiosity, and creativity. During unstructured play, children invent their own games. They figure things out, solve problems, and keep themselves entertained with inventive approaches to the world.
2. It Builds Confidence
Giving children the freedom to create their own games and explore the world (or at least the backyard) fosters a confidence-building sense of power and independence.
During their exploration of the outdoors, children try new things and take risks. Allowing children to take risks (within reason), ultimately helps build their confidence. Either they discover a new talent, or they experience a taste of failure and realize it’s not such a big deal after all.
Dr. Colleen Morgan, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist that specializes in cognitive behavioral therapist, explains, “A child needs to feel competence and confidence in their world. When I work with a family in therapy with a child who is spending a great deal of time on screens, we often see a decrease in self-confidence because the child is being shown examples of other children that can do things better than they can. When a child stops watching others on screens and instead goes outside to interact with peers or the natural world, they have numerous opportunities to build confidence in themselves.”
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3. It Teaches Responsibility
Playing outside inspires an appreciation for nature and responsibility for living things. Children can learn about watering plants, picking up trash, or being gentle with flowers (e.g., not stomping them or pulling them up by the roots). Children who spend time in nature are more likely to appreciate and care for the planet as they grow older.
Responsibility in one area translates to responsibility in other areas too. Children’s individual actions have an impact on nature, and they have an impact on other people. This understanding encourages children to take responsibility for their choices and think about the effect their decisions have on those around them.
4. It Keeps Children Active
Of course, another benefit of outdoor play is keeping children active. The concept of “exercise” doesn’t always sound fun, but running, jumping, dancing, throwing a ball, or riding a bike are fun ways for children to move their bodies and stay healthy. This results in lower BMI and better overall health (e.g., lower risk for issues like diabetes, asthma, and cardiovascular disease).
Physical activity also provides an outlet for children’s energy, sharpening their focus and enhancing sleep. Additionally, it helps children improve their motor skills and muscle strength.
5. It Improves Physical and Mental Health
Exposure to sunshine helps children’s bodies produce Vitamin D, which is important for the immune system and bone development. Vitamin D also contributes to restful sleep and improved mood.
Getting some sunshine every day is great for physical and mental health!
6. It Reduces Stress and Anxiety
While screens can increase stress and anxiety, outdoor play has been shown to reduce it. Numerous studies have linked excessive screen time for children to increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. For example, a study in the Journal of Preventative Medicine found children ages 2-17 who spend 7+ hours a day on a screen are twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression as children who spend just one hour on a screen.
Other effects documented in the study included decreased emotional stability, increased distractibility, and more difficulty making friends and finishing tasks—all compelling reasons to limit screen time.
Dr. Morgan notes, “When a child is interacting with a screen, the feedback is instantaneous, making them expect instant gratification in the real world. I often see increased levels of impatience, frustration, anger and distress in a child when the world does not move at the same speed as a screen.”
By contrast, fresh air and green spaces create a natural calming effect in the body. Outdoor play promotes beneficial “feel-good” hormones like oxytocin and serotonin.
“When a child steps away from the screen
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