Child Development: The Importance of Outdoor Play
The importance of outdoor play for young children cannot be overstated. Playing outdoors is a chance for children to explore their world and learn about the natural environment. In this article, we share outdoor play ideas for different ages.
Babies (pre-walking)
Your baby can learn about different surroundings by:
- enjoying tummy time on a towel, blanket or picnic rug
- crawling on grass, sand or through empty boxes
- watching different people and animals in their immediate environment
- watching tree leaves and branches move and listening to birds
Toddlers
As your child starts to walk they will often be keen to explore and to test their new physical skills. They can do this outdoors by:
- walking, running or jumping around trees, over stones or cracks in the footpath, or jumping in puddles
- throwing, catching and chasing balls
- wheeling, pushing or pulling different toys and objects
- blowing bubbles and chasing them as they float away
- playing in sand, mud or small amounts of water – always carefully supervise water play to prevent accidents
Pre-schoolers
Pre-schoolers often enjoy playing with others. Some ideas include:
- playing games of chasey, hide-and-seek or kick-to-kick
- crawling through tunnels or climbing over fallen trees
- moving in different ways with colourful leaves, flowers, scarves or streamers
- making mud pies with dirt and old cooking utensils
- going on a nature walk together and naming all of the different sounds you hear
- building a cubbyhouse out of boxes, clothes baskets or outdoor play equipment or furniture
What About the Weather?
As long as everyone is dressed in warm clothes that protect against the weather, there is no reason your family can’t enjoy the outdoors even in cold or wintry weather.
On a windy day, try flying kites or chasing the blowing leaves.
If it’s raining, you can dress up in raincoats and gumboots and find some puddles to jump in.
If it’s wet and wintry, head to the beach, lake, river or park and notice the differences compared to when it’s warm and sunny.
These activities can be lots of fun for your child and there’s always a nice hot bath waiting at home for afterwards.
We hope these tips will help you to support your child’s development through facilitating outdoor play…