We Speak Playground

Children and playgrounds have gone hand-in-hand since the first playground appearance in the United States in 1886. Unfortunately, today, kids are opting for more screen time than in-person play, some spending as much as seven hours a day on tablets or smartphones once they reach the teen years. Some children even as young as six months are using screen time in place of physical play.

Unfortunately, this propensity to replace physical outdoor play with inside screen time means kids are not getting their recommended 60 minutes a day engaging in physical activity—based on the United States Department of Health and Human Services daily recommendations. Thankfully, there is a way to make playgrounds more appealing, even to the modern generation and break them away from electronic play, getting them outdoors.

Everybody loves the great outdoors, especially camping and campgrounds. While hotels and airplanes were skipped by many last year after the COVID-19 pandemic started, many were able to social distance and vacation by camping.

Ashley Rossi, managing editor of Togo RV, told the USA Today this month, “Traveling with your travel bubble to a campground is one of the easiest ways to follow social distancing and maximize your time outside – you can avoid indoor dining, bring everything you need with you, socialize comfortably outdoors and get direct access to hiking trails and other outdoor activities.”

The current Coronavirus pandemic has people worrying about their health. Unfortunately though, the pandemic is taking its toll on people in a number of ways, including those who may not have even caught the virus. One of the unseen risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is children's mental health. The mental health of children may be declining.

As a parent, this can be concerning, and you may be wondering why this is happening, what types of mental health issues children may be facing, and what you ca do to help your child's mental health. Here are some of the questions you may have, along with the answers. 

With seemingly endless waves of COVID-19 barraging the nation, some schools are open, some aren’t. There are also more families opting for home schooling even if their district is open. If your child is learning at home, it’s essential to keep them active outdoors to help them stay balanced, healthy and happy. Check out these upsides to promoting outdoor time for your kids in this growingly uncertain world.

Playgrounds set the stage for many elements of child development. By learning through play, children are able to discover and understand the world surrounding them. They offer environments for advancing fine and gross motor skills. Beyond those physical developments, life skills and emotional growth moments occur that will guide and serve them through all stages of life.

The normal routines kids enjoyed just a few months ago are almost nonexistent today. They often aren’t allowed to see their friends or go to each other's house to play. If they played sports or enjoyed being part of a group of any sort, that has likely ended. Everyone around them is distant and wearing a mask covering their faces. Only their closest family hug them as everyone on the outside is keeping their six foot distance.

This has led many kids to experience the very real effects of depression for the first time in their lives. It’s understandable. After all, we as humans are social beings, so denying that need would understandably lead to anxious or sad feelings. Thankfully, there are ways to help your child overcome the doldrums they are experiencing by embracing the great outdoors through play. 

Dexterity and fine motor skills require the use of many small muscles in sync. Parents tend to associate the playground with the development of gross motor abilities like jumping and running, but it also improves fine motor skills.

April is World Autism Month. Now is the best time to increase awareness of this condition that affects so many children. The Centers for Disease Control reports that one in every 59 children is diagnosed with some form of autism. Autism can affect children from all ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but males are four times more likely to be diagnosed than females. Awareness of the prevalence of autism is the first step toward helping children and their families who suffer from this issue. One place that everyone can help kids with autism is on the playground.

It seems like the pressure on children to produce perfect test scores in school only gets stronger every year. The pressure is equally strong on teachers and education administrators since performance is typically tied to state or federal funding for schools. The STAAR test in Texas is one such example of test performance determining how much money each school receives in state funding.

Today’s children are growing up with screens at their fingertips. They have never had to live without smartphones, tablets or the internet. But studies show that too much screen time can have a negative impact on children. Their brains can actually change, according to The American Academy of Pediatrics. While smart devices can help improve your child’s education, too much time can be damaging.