We Speak Playground

Celebrate May as National Physical Fitness & Sports Month! Outdoor play and exercise used to be a natural part of every childhood. But with the temptations of electronics and video games, loving parents are challenged with getting kids outdoors, according to 39% of adults polled. It’s crucial to keep kids physically active and playing outside. With proper exercise, kids can have improved muscular fitness, better bone health and protection from heart disease.

Here are some of the proven benefits from studies around the world. 

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.

When it comes to child development, play goes far beyond simple entertainment by acting as a building block to learning. Regular playtime allows the brain neurons of children to change and grow, which aids in their ability to pick up new skills rather quickly. Through free-play sessions, children can increase their knowledge about how the world works and build skills that will help them through every stage of life. Parents and caregivers can aid this process by better understanding the role of play in learning and child development — and offering their kids ample opportunities for growth through play.

In the words of Charlie Chaplin, "A day without laughter is a day wasted." Fortunately for children and the adults who take care of them, laughter is one of the primary sounds heard on a well-designed playground. Thanks to the help of Computer-Aided Design (CAD), playgrounds can now be more readily designed to meet the specific needs of schools, parks and recreation areas. 

Play has always been an innate part of the childhood experience. Long before there were playgrounds of any kind, children were creating their own using little more than their imaginations. Play is important for the cultivation of motor skills as well as physical strength and stamina. Children also learn social skills from playing together in groups. Country children had it best in this respect — a crooked stick became a lightning-fast steed, while a small stream became a vast and mysterious ocean. Play occurs in all cultures and is an essential part of healthy childhood development, even though playgrounds themselves are a relatively recent addition. The first public playground was built in San Francisco in the year 1887, and playgrounds as we know them gradually came into existence as cities grew larger and outdoor play in the streets and in vacant lots became increasingly dangerous. However, it took over a century for the idea of inclusive playgrounds to even begin to make a dent in America's cultural landscape. 

Put down the screens!

In this day and age of Facebook, screen time and YouTube videos, real “face time” can get lost in the shuffle. And that’s too bad. Because growing children need time with other people to learn how to socialize and how to interact. They need time away from their screens so their growing minds and bodies can develop.

Sports, whether individual or team-based, are an excellent activity for young children that offer them numerous benefits other than physical fitness. Allowing your child to participate in outdoor extracurricular activities helps them to explore new things and develop valuable skills which are beneficial throughout their lives. Sports expose young children to a wide range of mental, emotional, social, educational and physical benefits. Here are some of the top reasons why playing sports is good for children.

Over the last 20 years, due primarily to the enactment of No Child Left Behind in 2002 and the adoption of 2010's Common Core State Standards, test scores have become increasingly more important for schools in the United States. Sadly, uninterrupted and unstructured playtime in the form of recess has simultaneously become increasingly more rare.

Since time began, children have had a unique relationship with water. While adults view water as a source of life or as a source of food, kids see water as a way to have fun. Water play has evolved over the years, but it remains a wholesome, healthy activity for kids around the world.

Summer is here and the heat is unrelenting. It's important for kids to spend time outdoors playing, but it's also challenging when the heat index is so high.