How Does Play Affect Our Children Active Nationwide?

Play is essential to every part of children’s lives and is important to their development. It provides the children with different ways of doing things children will want to explore and learn new things.

“Play is a process that is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated. Children and young people determine and control the content and intent of their play by following their instincts, ideas and interests in their own way and for their own reasons. The child chooses when and how to play and this is seen as a biological drive, essential to health and well-being.”

Children need to have that outside play time to explore the environment, develop co-ordination, gain self-confidence, strengthen their muscles and challenge themselves and their bodies with different outdoor activities and equipment. Playing outside is a form of exercise even if they don’t see it that way. It encourages them to be active so in the long term they remain healthy. Outdoor play gives children the chance to burn off energy so when they are playing indoors it’s a lot calmer. They will use this inside time to recharge their energy levels. As children play, climb, run etc. it increases their flexibility and gross motor skills. Playing outside can also contribute to children’s eye-sight. Studies show that children who spend more time playing outside will have better distance vision than those who spend most of the time playing inside. Children are more likely to make friends as they are in playground/ outside area as children might see others playing something that they are interested in so they go over and ask if they can play. In smaller settings there might only be one slide or one swing so this encourages children to take turns and share. Children who spend more time playing outside will be happier, healthier and stronger. Bacteria and viruses can spread quickly in a setting especially if there are lots of children in one room. Lots of fresh air will reduce the spread of these

That’s why there was school and then baseball-- not because everyone else did it but because it was fun and it was something to do. I didn’t play outside because I couldn’t play my game, but instead I enjoyed being outside. I enjoy playing video games, don’t get me wrong, but when asked to play baseball or to umpire a game, I am one of the first ones to accept the offer. It was a part of my childhood unlike many kids today. Now the kids are asking each other when they are going to be on MSN or AOL. Are they to lazy to talk to each other while enjoying the outdoors? They might as well enjoy it now because in 50 years breathing might be difficult and playing or even walking around outside might be a struggle.

Play is one of the best parts of being young. Children have the wonderful ability to get lost in their own world for hours. Play is a very important part of childhood for a variety of reasons. It allows for many growing opportunities and sparks creativeness. Since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 there had been a decline in the amount of free play in young grades. Fortunately, with more research, the link between play and learning is helping return it the schools (Nicholson, Bauer, & Woolley, 2016). The main goals on Interactive Neighborhood for Kids is to foster this idea of learning through play. They open many prospects for teachers, parents and the community to make the connection between the two.

Play is essential to children’s development; play is the way children develop new skills and enhance ones they already have. Play is a very important factor that helps children in the 4 areas of development, language, cognitive, social/moral, and physical.

There are many benefits that outdoor play can give children, in this chapter the book specifically talks about physical-motor, social-emotional, and cognitive benefits. Outdoor play can help children imitate their peers, which is in the physical-motor area. Believe it or not, but imitating can actually be a good thing for kids. I know that sometimes when children imitate their peers it’s usually when they’re doing something bad, but in this case it’s the opposite. If you have a child in your class who is an expert at riding bikes, then the other children in your class can learn from that child and develop that skill. If they see the child who knows how to ride a bike put on a helmet and then pedal their bike, then they will most likely do the

Social learning theory displays the outcome of the observational learning process of children, while surplus energy shows how a child is motivated to play if they need to release energy and play occurs due to surplus energy. The theories of play help us not only get a better understanding of why play exits, but also how play affects children’s development. Once we understand not only these two theories but most of them, we will truly understand why it is important for everyone around the child to promote play on a daily basis. Play doesn’t only and shouldn’t just be video games or movies at a young age. Children should be able to interact with others, not only children but also adults during play time. Play gives children the opportunity to explore and have fun learning, while us as educators and parents should take advantage of the positive aspects of

The growing concerns with childhood obesity have become the focus of First Lady Michelle Obama with her Let’s Move initiative and the NFL Play 60 Challenge to name a few. Not to mention, doctors and health care professionals everywhere are all promoting at least 60 minutes of play a day.

The times are changing, when I was younger I had some great times playing games outside with my friends and neighbors, but unfortunately ten years later I rarely see kids out playing. In today’s society children are substituting healthy outdoor recreation with indoor technology use. As time goes on more and more technology is coming out on the market that is brilliant and fascinating. But in reality, this brand new technology is depriving young children from the outdoor recreation that they need in order to stay physically healthy and to mentally develop properly. Also, this technology is robbing young children of necessary time spent interacting with their peers. Children are being negatively affected by substituting outdoor recreation for indoor technology use. In the TED talk, “Play is More than Just Fun” by Stuart Brown, he explains that play is more than just exercise, that it is good for the development of young children. After watching the TED

At a young age kids are highly hyperactive and need to lose it. So why not sign them up to play a sport that they would like and enjoy playing instead of having them watching TV all day? Should kids play sports at a young age? All competitive sports are fun and teach kids to work together as a team and learn how to play. Additionally they will learn how to play by the rules. Most of all they will have fun on

Laurie Hollman (2016), a psychoanalyst, wrote an article on Huffington post explaining the positive effects of playing outdoors has on children. When a child is able to play outside, they are first learning to coordinate their body with their surroundings. This can either be through playing with a ball, using a swing, playing on a jungle gym, or even playing hop-scotch. When a child is playing with parent outside they are building a relationship. This relationship

Outdoor play is a vital part of a child’s development and should be used within childcare settings and schools as much as possible. According to Nicole Therlin for www.ehow.com, in the article ‘The Importance of

As time passes and as technology is advancing, the tradition of playing outside is diminishing rapidly. Many people concentrate on their electronic devices in their ages as early as three. Sports are the most effective way that children express their joyfulness and brilliance. It provides children advantages of physical activities, confidence, and enjoyment. Participating in organized sports in early ages can produce the greatest results for children. Organized sports are good for children to improve social skills, to have successful life, and to keep their health.

This topic has always been a factor in education, and I think it will continue to be so. Play is important for the proper development of a child. It also encourages social skills of bonding with other children as well as with adults. I am sure that the role of play in classrooms is an issue that needs to be addressed nationwide in the United States; but also in many other countries. Federal control of education has the power to affect the incorporation of more play in our educational environments. There should not be such stress placed on standardized test scores, we should be more concerned that our children are learning and in a fun, effective way that will stick with them.